Object Details
Maker
Mbala artist
Label Text
This drummer figure has been displayed as part of the Tishman collection since 1966. Because of the subject matter it has always been identified as Mbala, since the rare Mbala statues either portray mother and child figures or drummers. The style of the drummer's face however is not typical of known Mbala sculptures although the hairstyle and active pose with the drum do relate to other examples. Just as the living drummer accompanies the village chief, the figure of the drummer would have been kept with the chief's regalia in a special storage house.
Description
Wood figure of a drummer.
Exhibition History
The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February 26-July 9, 2017
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 16, 1968-January 5, 1969; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, August 31-November 1, 1970; University of Texas College of Fine Arts, Austin; City Art Museum, St. Louis, August 20-October 17, 1971; Des Moines Art Center; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV
Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1967
Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman, Musee de l'Homme, Paris, 1966
Published References
Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman, Musee de l'Homme, Paris, 1966, no. 121 (not illustrated).
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 232, pl. 123.
Muze'on Yisra'el. 1967. Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, no. 166 (not illustrated).
Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. 1968. Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, no. 145.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 226, no. 138.
Content Statement
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Credit Line
Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
Date
Late 19th-early 20th century
Object number
2005-6-186
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Figure
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
H x W x D: 29.8 x 41.6 x 15.9 cm (11 3/4 x 16 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.)
Geography
Democratic Republic of the Congo
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
musical instrument
male
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_2005-6-186