Male figure
date: label: Date
content: 15th-17th century
name: label: Maker
content: Nomoli Style
notes: label: Label Text
content: This squatting figure leaning against a tripod chair has a large head with a jutting jaw, bulbous eyes, a broad nose with large nostrils and large C-shaped ears positioned flat against the head. The hands of the figure grasp the two plaits of a beard protruding from either side of the chin, and the figure's legs are pulled up so that his knees touch his arms. At the very top of the head is a deep cavity.
label: Label Text
content: Called nomoli in Mende, this figure is one among many similar examples that have been found throughout southeastern Sierra Leone and neighboring Guinea. Recent scholarship has identified the makers of the figures as the Sapi, whose present-day linguistic descendants are the Baga, Temne and Bullom. Stylistically they are similar to Sapi Portuguese ivory carvings dated to the 15th and 16th centuries. The Sapi tradition of carving stone figures probably dates at least to the 15th century. While no longer made, such figures have been found in the ground and are reused in a variety of ritual contexts by peoples in the area such as the Mende, Bullom and Kono.
label: Label Text
content: The original purpose of such figures is the subject of ongoing debate, but the attributes of other examples and the customs of local inhabitants have caused scholars to speculate that the figures were commemorative, representing the regenerative force of an identifiable, honored ancestor or a recently deceased prominent person. For example, the beard on this figure matches descriptions of beards among present-day inhabitants of the area, and beards often are associated with elderly men who are heads of lineages. A beard distinguishes those in authority and signals that the individual is in control. The tripod chair on which the figure leans is also significant. Temne and Bullom peoples buried important men seated in chairs.
label: Description
content: Squatting figure with hands under the chin, cavity in the top of the head and a curving topped backrest or chair.
label: Provenance
content: Alpha Thiam, Monrovia, Liberia, -- to 1974 or before
label: Provenance
content: Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, before 1974 to 1985
label: Exhibition History
content: Pavilion: A New Look, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 9, 2019–ongoing
label: Exhibition History
content: Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th & 17th Centuries, National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 23-September 16, 2007; Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles
label: Published References
content: Bodrogi, Tibor. 1981. Stammeskunst. Budapest: Corvina, vol. 1, no. 240.
label: Published References
content: Levenson, Jay A. (ed). 2007. Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th & 17th Centuries. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, p. 150, no. A-3.
label: Published References
content: National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 35-36, no. 16A.
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: Sierra Leone
label: Geography
content: Guinea
title: label: Object Name
content: <I>nomoli</I>
topic: label: Topic
content: furniture
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
label: On View
content: NMAfA, Pavilion Gallery
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Museum purchase
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 85-1-2
objectType: label: Type
content: Figure
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Steatite
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 16.2 x 8.6 x 10.8 cm (6 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 4 1/4 in.)