Warrior figure

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Warrior figure

Fon artist

Date
early 20th century
Medium
Iron
Culture
Fon
Department
Arts of Global Africa
Institution
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Note the stance: the left foot, sometimes called “the foot of Gu, ” in front of the right. Not a good sign if you’re an enemy—it suggests aggressiveness and readiness to act. The sword and bells are also associated with Gu, the god of iron, war, and technology, and in the 19th century they adorned life-size royal portraits to show the king’s association with Gu and his authority over life and death. Small welded figures like this one were placed on personal shrines to invoke Gu’s powers. Fon, Benin, Africa

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