id:			153765
accession number:	1987.62
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.62
updated:		2025-06-10 11:10:08.043000

Commemorative figure (lefem), mid-1800s–1910. Probably carved by Ateu Atsa (Bangwa, c. 1840–1910). Wood; overall: 92.1 x 20.3 cm (36 1/4 x 8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1987.62

title:				Commemorative figure (lefem)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			mid-1800s–1910
creation date earliest:		1850
creation date latest:		1910
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bangwa Kingdom
technique:	wood
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Ateu Atsa (Bangwa, c. 1840–1910)  - carver

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measurements: Overall: 92.1 x 20.3 cm (36 1/4 x 8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1987
	opening date:   1988-02-24T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1987</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

	title:		Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures
	opening date:   2011-09-21T00:00:00
	<i>Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures</i>. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 21, 2011-January 29, 2012).

	title:		Gallery One 2012
	opening date:   2012-12-12T05:00:00
	<i>Gallery One 2012</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).

	title:		African Master Carvers: Known and Famous
	opening date:   2017-03-26T04:00:00
	<i>African Master Carvers: Known and Famous</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 16, 2017).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* {'description': 'CMA 1988: "Year in Review 1987," Bulletin 75 (February 1988), p. 70, no. 180, repr. p. 60.', 'opening_date': '1988-02-01T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (October 4, 2011 - 1/29/2012): "Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures", figure 118, p. 130.', 'opening_date': '2012-01-29T00:00:00'}

* {'description': 'The Cleveland Museum of Art (3/26/2017-7/16/2017); “African Master Carvers: Known and Famous”.', 'opening_date': '2017-03-26T00:00:00'}

* {'description': '<em>African Art: Recent Acquisitions</em>. Pace Primitive and Ancient Art. New York, NY (October 24–December 6, 1986).', 'opening_date': '1986-12-06T00:00:00'}

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PROVENANCE

	probably Ateu Atsa, Cameroon
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Charles Ratton, Paris, France
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Pace Primitive and Ancient Art, New York, NY
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Cleveland Museum of Art by purchase 1987
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Petridis, Constantijn. <em>South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. </em>Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. 30, p. 90 - 91
	url:		

	Lintig, Bettina von. 2014. “A Grasslands Beaded Leopard Skin.” <em>Tribal Art: Quarterly Journal of the Art Culture and History of Traditional Peoples and New World Civilizations</em> 18 (3) No. 72 Summer 2014 Pp 108-117.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Field Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). 1984. <em>The Art of Cameroon</em>. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, cat. no. 7, pp. 86-87.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, and Henry John Drewal. 1989. <em>African Art : A Brief Guide to the Collection : The Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Museum, fig. 18.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	CMA Handbook, 1991b, p. 143.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	LaGamma, Alisa, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Museum Rietberg. 2011. <em>Heroic Africans : Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures</em>. New York, New Haven Conn: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Distributed by Yale University Press, fig. 18, p. 130.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 75, no. 2 (February 1988): 30–71.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 60; Mentioned: p. 70, no. 180
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25160017

	Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
	page number: 	Mentioned and reproduced: P. 33
	url:		

	Lintig, Bettina von. "From Fontem to Berlin: The Long Journey of a Bangwa Lefem Staff." Tribal Art 19, no. 3 (Summer 2015): 130-135.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 130, fig. 1
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.62/1987.62_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.62/1987.62_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.62/1987.62_full.tif