Looking to identify the heritage of this fertility artifact

My Name is cter, currently working on a thesis for art history about repatriation, anyone can please direct me to a source or something.

 

Greetings......

Help us , to help you !

 

Welcome @cter .
Repatriation is a broad and complex issue, which aspect of repatriation are you looking for? For instance the legality on either side, who is an item to be returned to, can there be conditions attached to the return, etc. And I see you added a photo of an African statue, is your focus on African pieces specifically?

About the complexity, below is a link to a blog about the "coming home" of a Madurese keris which was in the UK.
In this case the supposed "coming home" is not from the UK to Madura, Indonesia, but to the Netherlands. The blog deals with the definition of "coming home" of an item gifted in an unequal colonial setting.

https://carolinedrieenhuizen.wordpr...-governor-general-of-colonial-indonesia-1834/

An added question would be, even if the keris were to be sent to its original home, would it go to Pamekasan, which was its first home, or would it end up in a national museum in Jakarta. Jakarta has a very different culture from Madura.
This is an issue I also see with some African items.

 

Great examples AJ. When I just heard that word 'Repatriation', many current political issues exploded in my brain.

 

Viewing this thread a second time, I see that the title refers to the item in the photo only. I only read your post, which didn't specify that. Sorry about that.

But by heritage, do you mean which people or tribe made her, not the entire background of this specific statue? You may be looking into returning her to her rightful owners?
In any case, I will tag @2manybooks for you. She may need to see more of the statue.

 

Agreed: repatriation is a mess. Where did she come from, and does that "where" still exist, and who's in charge there now. Do they even want her back? Is there some place on the other end for her to go? ...and thus the thesis, or ...?

In America, we run into that problem with some old Japanese swords. Some were made as tourist items or sold new. Some were taken home by US servicemen and kept. The sword can be found in an old trunk after the soldier died, and then the Repatration game is on. Most Japanese families want their family history back, but sometimes the family died out no doubt. If the soldier left no descendants, or they've died out too...OK now what?

 

I didn't
know that about Japanese swords.... interesting !

I did know that some older blades were fitted with newer handles and carried in WW2..

 

That's how they ended up here. Officers sometimes carried the family sword into battle, where the GIs took possession one way or another. If the officer was killed it may have been just as well; the sword wasn't left to rot somewhere.

 

Welcome, @cter.

From your photograph, it looks like the object is in a museum's collection - is that correct? It would be helpful if you could tell us what you may already know about it, or what the museum's records say about its possible origin.

It is difficult to say much based only on one photograph. However, from what I can see of the structure and materials, I would guess the figure comes from East Africa, possibly Tanzania. There are somewhat similar gourd figures with articulated wooden arms that are attributed to the Nyamwezi, Sukuma, and Kwere people of Tanzania. The objects are usually described as medicine containers or divination objects. Unfortunately, objects from that region of Africa are not well known or studied.

Questions about repatriation of such an object will depend on its correct identification, and the laws and ethical guidelines applicable wherever the object is held.

 

Thank you, Yes the tribe who made her and if there is more to the statue and tribe itself..
I have attached some images

 

Yes, it's currently In University Museum in Tennessee. thank You

 

What do they have to say about it ?

 

is it described as a calabash figure?

 

Or terracotta, like this one without legs from Cameroun/Nigeria. The tilt of the head is similar, which could be important:
https://www.bruno-mignot.com/galeri...poterie-fetiche-mambila-cameroun-nigeria.html

And how tall is it?

Here is a calabash fetish with legs, from Tanzania:
https://www.galerie-art-africain.com/art-africain/Statues-statuettes/Statue-Sukuma/16359

There are calabash figures from other parts of Africa too, so it would be nice to know more about it.
How did it come to be in the museum? Was it a donation, if so by who and where did they travel?

 

Here is the catalog information for this figure, found through the Reece Museum's online portal -

https://reece.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/8E362212-967B-46FD-B98A-942676673613

 

I can suggest several strategies for further research.

Given the full image, it is possible to do an image search using google lens. Several similar figures turn up in auction, gallery, and ebay listings, with similar attributions to Tanzania. While these may provide some clues for further research, I would not rely on them for the most accurate information. Misinformation is often copied on the internet.

The Museum's catalog number for this object, 2021.005.030, indicates that it is a fairly recent acquisition (2021). Is there a chance you can contact the donor (Nicely) to see if they have additional information about a particular tribal association, or when/where it was acquired that was not recorded previously?

Many museums have databases of at least some of their collections available online, which makes it possible to do detailed searches for similar objects. So far, I have not found a specific name for such objects but "Tanzania", "Nyamwezi", "Sukuma", "gourd/calabash", "divination", and "medicine" may be useful search terms. Look for major Anthropology museums. The goal would be to find a close comparison with detailed collection information, which would help confirm the identification.

So far, I do not have reason to doubt the suggested Tanzanian origin but, despite the number of similar objects that turned up in a google image search, I have not found any examples in a preliminary search of some museum databases (British Museum, Pit Rivers, Smithsonian, Peabody). This may mean that such objects are only now coming out of the cultures of origin. This sometimes happens when tribal groups are under pressure to convert (in this case either to Islam or Christianity), and objects associated with traditional practices are discarded.

You will also need to search the published literature on the ethnology of East Africa, focusing on material culture and religious/divination practices. Your thesis advisor should be able to help guide you in conducting an effective literature search.

 

I would add that if the object proves to have been used in traditional divination practices, or a "medicine" container, or even simply a doll, I doubt that it would be a subject for repatriation. Such items would have been personal possessions of the practitioner/user, not held in common by the community like some Native American medicine bundles are.

On the other hand, here is one that is identified as having been used in community ceremonies, representing an ancestor.

https://www.afrique-arts.com/detail.php?id=561

Their description -
"Statue aux menbres articulés,connues sous le nom d'amaléba, et utilisée après les récoltes,accompagnée de musiciens et danseurs,lors des cérémonies liées à la saison sèche.Ce type de sculpture, à laquelle des matières fétiches sont attachées,est sensé illustrer des ancêtres.
1ère moitié du 20eme sc.(Nafaya)"

translation -
A statue with articulated limbs, known as an amaléba, used after the harvest, accompanied by musicians and dancers, during ceremonies associated with the dry season. This type of sculpture, to which fetish materials are attached, is believed to represent ancestors.
First half of the 20th century (Nafaya)

However, other "amaleba" figures I have found are much larger, and carved entirely of wood.

 

Thank you very much, this is so helpful