id:			172586
accession number:	2015.72
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.72
updated:		2022-05-04 09:00:35.538000

Shrine Figure (Ikenga), possibly early 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo carver. Wood, organic materials, and raffia; overall: 74.5 x 18 x 20 cm (29 5/16 x 7 1/16 x 7 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2015.72

title:				Shrine Figure (Ikenga)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			possibly early 1900s
creation date earliest:		1900
creation date latest:		1925
current location:		
creditline:			Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo carver
technique:	Wood, organic materials, and raffia
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 74.5 x 18 x 20 cm (29 5/16 x 7 1/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Language of Beauty in African Art
	opening date:   2022-04-03T04:00:00
	<i>The Language of Beauty in African Art</i>. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (April 3-July 31, 2022) https://kimbellart.org/exhibition/language-beauty-african-art; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 10, 2022-February 27, 2023) https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9344/the-language-of-beauty-in-african-art.

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Kunsthaus Zurich, 1970-71: Elsy Leuzinger, "Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika"

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PROVENANCE

	Jacques Kerchache, Paris, France (probably by field-collection in Nigeria (Biafra), at the end of the Nigerian Civil War, in 1968 or 1969)
	date: 1968, 1969, or 1970-2001
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Anne Kerchache, Paris, France by inheritance
	date: 2001-2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, France, “Collection Anne et Jacques Kerchache” Lot 132 - sold June 13, 2010)
	date: 2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Steven Morris, New York/Michigan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2010-2016
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2016-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
This figure associated with achievement and success would have received prayers and sacrifices in return for the guidance of ancestors.

digital description: 


wall description: 
This seated figure of a man holding a cutlass and an inverted human skull is a cult object called<em> ikenga</em>, associated with achievement and success. Standing at the center of a man’s personal shrine, the sculpture receives prayers and sacrifices in return for the ancestors’ guidance. An elaborate headdress comprising two horn-like extensions reinforces the cult’s preoccupation with masculinity, while facial incisions known as <em>ichi</em> refer to membership in one of many male associations.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
	page number: 	Mentioned and reproduced: P. 81
	url:		

	Cole, Herbert M. <em>Igbo</em>. Milan : 5 Continents Editions, 2013.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 24, p. 26; reproduced: p. 131, pl. 9
	url:		

	"The Language of Beauty in African Art."<em> Kimbell Art Museum Members' Guide</em> (March–September 2022): 2-7.
	page number: 	Reproduced:  P. 5
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.72/2015.72_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.72/2015.72_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2015.72/2015.72_full.tif