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Ceremonial Spoon or Ladle (Wunkirmian or Wake Mia),

Female Figure from a Karan-Wemba (Living Ancestress) Mask,

This dynamically carved figure was commissioned to honor a woman who had outlived her husband and attained the rank of “living ancestress,” a beacon of wisdom. Worn with a fiber costume, the mask—understood as an active entity—performed at the funeral of the ancestress and at subsequent commemorative festivals to promote communal well-being.

Puppet Sculpture,

Female Figure,

Mende Mask,

Ntan Drum,

Portrait of Sogolon, Mother of Sundiata, Founder of the Empire of Mali,

This torso, from the region of the ancient city of Djenné, depicts Sogolon, mother of Sundiata Keita (ca. 1217–1255 CE), founder of the Mali Empire. Sogolon was a real woman immortalized in the Epic of Sundiata. Over time, myth imbued her with supernatural abilities, including invincibility and the ability to transform herself into a buffalo-woman.

Mami Wata Figure,

Female Figure,

This small, elegant sculpture in the form of a seated female figure, now fragmentary, comes from the Bamana region of Mali, West Africa. Passages from a praise poem suggest how women of extraordinary accomplishment are regarded in Bamana society: “If you are not afraid of females, Master . . . If you are not afraid […]

Fan for Osun,

This elegant brass fan was created to honor Osun, the Yoruba goddess of beauty and fertility. Priestesses of Osun carry brass fans in processions along the banks of the Osun River during annual festivals dedicated to the deity. Osun relieves human anxiety in the same way that a fan cools the body. According to Yoruba […]