Male Figure, Iagalagana

CultureMumuye peoples
Titles
  • Male Figure, Iagalagana
  • iagalagana
Date1900–1999
PlaceNigeria, Africa
MediumWood
Dimensions44 3/4 × 9 × 8 3/4 in. (113.7 × 22.9 × 22.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by The Brown Foundation, Inc.
Object number2006.266
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
203M Sterling Galleries
On view

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Department
African Art
Object Type
Description

The Mumuye of northeastern Nigeria are an elusive people who created unique works of art. This abstract statue, characterized by undulating arms, long torso, and stylized legs, creates a sense of lyrical rhythm and movement. Examples the size and quality of this male figure, or iagalagana, are extremely rare.


 Living in an area difficult to access, the Mumuye were first known to the French in 1892 but remained isolated until 1950. Mumuye statues were invoked in divination and healing rituals, for the mediation of disputes, and to bring rain. They were kept in shrines by important people of the village such as healers and rainmakers, who communicated with them. Made of perishable wood, figures like this one are highly sought-after. Comparable works of art are found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Beyeler Museum in Basel, Switzerland.


ProvenanceEl, Hadj Mama, Founban, Cameroon, 1960s; collected in Cameroon by Charles Davis; [Davis Gallery, New Orleans]; purchased by MFAH, 2006.


Exhibition History"Treasures: Aesthetic Discoveries/Visual Dellights," November 17, 2004 - August 15, 2005, National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Vessel Display, Multicolor
Dante Marioni
2003
Glass and wood
2007.1544.A-.M
front of object
1100–1450 AD
Wood inlaid with mother of pearl and spondylus shell
2010.910
Standing Male Figure (bateba)
1900–1930
Wood
91.1489
Standing Male Figure (bateba)
1850–1970
Wood
91.1505
[Male] Twin Figure (ere ebeji)
1850–1970
Wood, strands of glass beads, camwood and indigo
91.1510
Standing Male Fetish Figure
1850–1970
Wood
91.1545
Fon Bronze Standing Male Figure
1850–1950
Bronze
91.1493
Male Twin Figure
1850–1950
Wood
91.1490
Set of Four Standing Male and Female Figures
1900–1950
Wood, beads
97.793.1-.4
Standing Male Figure (bateba)
1850–1970
Wood
91.1500
Standing Male Figure
1900–1980
Gold leaf, wood, and beads
98.722