Female figure

19th century

Luba, African

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.

About the Artwork

The female form is a crucial focus of Luba art. In Luba culture, only women who can bear children are believed to be capable of containing powerful spirits. For this reason, objects with images of women tend to be owned by noble men. In a political context, the female form has enormous meaning because of the critical importance of the female line in royal descent. Luba women also play a distinct role as guardians of the deep secrets pertaining to kingship power; indeed, the Luba say that women protect the secrets and taboos of royalty within their breasts. The elaborate keloidal scars on this figure’s torso are marks of beauty. The aesthetic refinement of the female body through elaborate skin ornamentation serves as a metaphor for the civilization that Luba rulers disseminate within society. This is one of only a handful of known Luba freestanding sculptures. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Female figure

Artwork Date 19th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Luba

Medium Wood and varnish

Dimensions Overall (height approx): 13 inches (33 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2014.34

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

(Bernard de Grunne, Brussels, Belgium

Donald Morris Gallery, Inc., Birmingham, Michigan, USA)

2014-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback