Object Details
- Label Text
- The Anyi of the Sanwi kingdom of southeastern Cote d'Ivoire are one of the several Akan groups that migrated from what is now Ghana between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This memorial figure is a conventionalized portrait of the deceased--so portraying their physical likeness that they are thought of as "photos" of the dead. The likeness is not in its features but in the details of scarification and hairstyle.
- Known as mma, these portrait figures were made from the 18th to the early 20th century when pressure from missionaries and colonial officers discouraged production. They typically represented royalty: kings, queenmothers and members of their court.
- After use as an effigy at the ceremonial funeral, the figures were installed as part of an effigy court in the mmaso, a part of the sacred forest reserved as the village for the mma.
- For the Anyi, the arrangement of groups of such figures expressed the genealogy and history of the town's rulers.
- Description
- Terracotta portrait figure of a deceased female with upturned head displaying raised scarification and facial features on an annulated neck. The figure flares at its base, suggesting feet, but its hands and feet are broken off.
- Provenance
- Eliot Elisofon, New York, -- to 1973
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Anyi artist
- Date
- Mid-17th to early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Eliot Elisofon
- Medium
- Ceramic
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 28.3 x 8.9 x 11.1 cm (11 1/8 x 3 1/2 x 4 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Figure
