Cleveland Museum of Art

Male figure

Date

probably 1800s

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Benue River Valley, Unidentified maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Realized in a very distinctive style using the lost-wax method, this figure’s cultural origin and function is limited because it was removed from Nigeria during that country’s turbulent civil war of the late 1960s. Perhaps it was once part of an altar or shrine dedicated to a guardian or tutelary spirit. Connotations of prestige and wealth may explain why copper-alloy objects were diffused across vast territory and inherited over many generations. Figurative copper-alloy objects like this sculpture point to intense trade and the circulation of people, goods, and technologies in the Benue River Valley, resulting in a highly cosmopolitan society.

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