Male figure
date: label: Date
content: Early 19th century
name: label: Maker
content: Undetermined artist
label: Maker
content: Bvu Kwam, active early 19th century
notes: label: Label Text
content: This masterpiece of Grassfields carving has an unusually emotional expression, which may be associated with the personal style of Bvu Kwam, an early-19th-century master sculptor. According to one field informant, the figure is of King Bay Akiy, the fourth ruler of the Isu kingdom, who reigned in the late 18th century. Depicted returning from victory over the Nshe, a neighboring group, he is seated on a dangerous animal, probably a leopard, and holds a weapon and his enemy's head. This pose relates to a regional tradition of representing personal achievement.
label: Description
content: Wood seated male figure holding a knife in his proper right hand and holding a trophy head in his proper left. The figure has a hollow bone strung on a cloth strip around his neck. The wood is weathered and streaked with traces of red pigment. The carved ivory (?) teeth are prominent. Traces of human hair as a beard and on the back of the head.
label: Provenance
content: Possibly Elias Kum, Isu, Cameroon, before 1968
label: Provenance
content: Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York, by 1968 to 1984
label: Provenance
content: Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, Orlando, Fla., 1984 t0 2005
label: Exhibition History
content: Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
label: Exhibition History
content: African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
label: Exhibition History
content: Pavilion des Sessions at the Palais du Louvre, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, June 25-September 26, 2006
label: Exhibition History
content: Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 25, 1989-September 3, 1990
label: Exhibition History
content: For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
label: Exhibition History
content: Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 16, 1968-January 5, 1969; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, August 31-November 1, 1970; University of Texas College of Fine Arts, Austin; City Art Museum, St. Louis, August 20-October 17, 1971; Des Moines Art Center; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV
label: Published References
content: Arthur, Alex. 2009. "Philippe Guimiot: Expert par excellence." Tribal Art XIII:3 (52), p. 103, no. 6.
label: Published References
content: Cole, Herbert M. 1989. Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 98, no. 110.
label: Published References
content: Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 9, 28-29.
label: Published References
content: Phillips, Tom (ed). 1995. Africa: The Art of a Continent, ed. by Tom Phillips. Munich: Prestel; London: Royal Academy of London, p. 352, no. 5.9.
label: Published References
content: Rossi, Milene C. Les Phemba: une mére un enfant des influences. Saint-Maur-des-Fossés: E´ditions Se´pia.
label: Published References
content: Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. 1968. Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, pp. 9, 92, no. 98.
label: Published References
content: Visoná, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner, Herbert M. Cole and Michael D. Harris. 2001. A History of Art in Africa. New York: Harry N. Abrams, p. 347, no. 10-23.
label: Published References
content: Visoná, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner and Herbert M. Cole. 2008. A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, p. 331, no. 10-18.
label: Published References
content: Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 192-195, no. 115.
label: Content Statement
content: 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.
label: Image Requests
content: 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/
place: label: Geography
content: Grassfields region, Isu kingdom, Cameroon
topic: label: Topic
content: leopard
label: Topic
content: weapon
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2005-6-31
objectType: label: Type
content: Figure
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Wood, ivory, pigment, human hair, bone, cloth
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 111.8 x 39.7 x 44.8 cm (44 x 15 5/8 x 17 5/8 in.)