Commemorative Post
date: label: Accession Date
content: 13 Apr 2011
label: Collection Date
content: 13 Apr 1974
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. Marilyn Heldman
label: Donor Name
content: Dr. Marilyn Heldman
notes: label: Notes
content: Heavy wooden post, carved into male figure. Painted reddish-brown, with black hair and white and yellow necklaces (?) and phallic headdress. No other clothing. Ostrich shell eyes and teeth. Purchased in Addis Ababa by the donor in 1974 from Gelebu Assengogo, who indicated that it was made in 1973 for sale in the art market. Large figures like this are erected at the gates of Konso villages to commemorate local heroes (hunters and warriors) who have died, along with smaller figures representing their wives and slain enemies. The figures are allowed to disintegrate over time before they are removed. Other posts in the collection are severely weathered, with the paint washed off, but this one shows what they may have looked like when new. It also marks the transition of this art form from a strictly local context into the global art market.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 28 Nov 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Konso
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2055747
label: USNM Number
content: E433004-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Figure
physicalDescription: label: Length
content: 11.5 cm
label: Width
content: ca. 13 cm
label: Height
content: 82 cm