Male Brass Genre Figure
date: label: Accession Date
content: 25 Apr 1994
label: Collection Date
content: 1956
name: label: Collector
content: Katharine Swift
label: Donor Name
content: Katharine Swift
notes: label: Notes
content: BRASS FIGURE DEPICTS MAN BEING ATTACKED BY ANIMAL. 4-LEGGED ANIMAL, LONG TAIL RAISED, JAWS OPEN, HAS RIGHT FRONT PAW NAILED TO LEFT KNEE OF MAN. ANIMAL HAS POINTED EARS & INCISED STYLIZED DESIGN ALL OVER BODY. MALE FIGURE IS KNEELING ON RIGHT KNEE W/ LEFT KNEE AT RIGHT ANGLE TO BODY. MAN IS RAISING AN AXE IN RIGHT HAND, LEFT HAND EXTENDED. MAN HAS STYLIZED FACIAL FEATURES, HAIR HAS INCISED DETAILS. SHORTS OUTLINE IS INCISED. ACCORDING TO MARY JO ARNOLDI, CURATOR OF AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY, BRASS CASTING & BRASS FIGURES ARE A LONG-STANDING CRAFT SPECIALIZATION IN THIS AREA. BRASS FIGURES WERE CAST FOR USE ON COMMEMORATIVE STAFFS CALLED "ASEN" FOR THE FUNERALS OF IMPORTANT ELDER MEN & WOMEN. THESE STAFFS OFTEN INCLUDED GENRE FIGURES SIMILAR TO THIS ONE, WHICH WAS MADE FOR THE TOURIST TRADE.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 28 Nov 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Abomey, Benin, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Fon
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 400212
label: USNM Number
content: E427936-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Figure
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 19 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 12 cm
label: Height - Standing
content: 10.5 cm