Open daily. Always free.
Male "Child-Caller" Figure

Male "Child-Caller" Figure

Unknown

This sculpture represents a woman’s desire for a male child. She purchased the bare wooden figure from a blacksmith-carver, then oiled and decorated it herself. She carried the figure in a pouch on her back like an infant, cherishing her “wooden child” until giving birth.
Artist
Unknown (Cameroonian, Dowayo People)
Title
Male "Child-Caller" Figure
Date
ca. 1960-1970
Medium
Wood, horn, cowrie shells, leather, bone, seed pods, and glass beads
Dimensions
17 1/8 x 6 5/8 x 3 1/2 in. Overall
Credit
J. David and Laura Seefried Horsfall Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
2001.7
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
Cameroon

Related

  • Exhibition gallery guide, "Revealing Forms: African Art from the Elvehjem Collection." 2002.

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

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.