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Figure with Elaborate Bustle

Figure with Elaborate Bustle

Unknown

This sculpture depicts an uninitiated youth donning one element of the vaca bruto masquerade ensemble. Performers wearing heavy, horned headdresses, wristbands, and anklets imitate wild cattle to demonstrate their physical strength and acknowledge their social immaturity. The figure, probably created for a European patron, is a finely carved innovative interpretation of Bijogo customs.
Artist
Unknown (Guinea-Bissauan, Bijogo People)
Title
Figure with Elaborate Bustle
Date
20th century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
with base: 31 1/4 x 8 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. overall
Credit
J. David and Laura Seefried Horsfall Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
1997.28
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
Guinea-Bissau

Related

1997, sold by Gallery DeRoche (San Francisco, CA) to the Elvehjem Art Museum [now called the Chazen Museum of Art] (Madison, WI)

  • Exhibition gallery guide, "Revealing Forms: African Art from the Elvehjem Collection." 2002.
  • Drewal, Henry John. "African Art at the Elvehjem." Bulletin/Biennial Report 2001-2003. Elvehjem Museum of Art (2003): 16-36. pp. 16-36

  • Revealing Forms: African Art from the Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 4/20/2002–6/16/2002

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