Collecting African Tribal Art : Djenne Beauty!!

Achieving postures which seem realistic would seem fairly easy to do given the flexibility of prefired clay. However this is not typically the case. Djenne statuary is so impressive the sculptors were able to impose impossible positions on statuary without losing sinuous flow and still convey a high level of human depth of feeling and emotion.

Provenance : Minkoff Djenne

In the photo/video link above the right leg seems to lend itself in a very natural overall composition, however on closer inspection it would have to be broken at the ankle to achieve this. Additionally the severity of the open wounds, the goiter and the size of the worms emanating from the body would not be possible. The distended abdomen and the thin arms also point to Kwashiorkor, a condition resulting from inadequate protein intake leading to loss of muscle mass and a large protuberant belly.

Paradoxically one can only marvel at the strength and perseverance displayed and empathize with the subject’s plight.

Excerpt from previous Blog post:

Consider a similar perspective form Bernard de Grunne on Djenne-Jeno,

“As to the meaning of snakes, VanDyke has found at least 200 figurative works with herpetological symbolism (Disease and Serpent Imagery in Figurative Terra Cotta Sculpture from the Inland Niger Delta, of Mali). She suggests that some of these snakes could represent parasitic worms coming out of the mouth, ears, nose and even vagina of some figures. I have also underlined the ancient symbolism attached to snakes starting with the founding myth of Dinga, the first king of the Soninke Wagadu empire circa A.D. 800, who fathered many children and one large snake called Wagadu Bida. Snakes, thus, are connected to ancestor worship but could also relate to the treatment of diseases represented in the seated figure analyzed here. In the ancient oral histories of the Wagadu and Mali empires, illness was framed as a spiritual test and overcoming it, a mark of spiritual power for both the afflicted and their healers. Such beliefs persist into the present.”

Kongo Exhibit and the Djenne Diversion.

One fine Saturday evening (10/10/15) I managed to finally get to the Metropolitan Museum for an exhibition of Kongo Tribal art (Kongo: Power and Majesty). I considered myself fully armed, with my brand new 6S iPhone, and my trusty dinosaur of a Canon (EOS20D) SLR. At the entrance to the museum there were rows of trees breaking the concrete American monotony I have become used to which provided esthetic support to the entertaining fountain show.

Of course once inside (with voluntary donation offered) I took the circuitous route and first found myself in the ‘permanent display’ of African Tribal Art. The lone 13^th century Djenne anthropomorphic male (H. 10 x W. 11 “) terracotta on display is pretty impressive.

[E1] Djenne terracotta – Metropolitan Museum of Art

“The first inhabitants of Djenné-Djono (a few kilometers from present-day Djenné) settled there as early as the 3rd century B.C.. The city of Djenné is built on an 88 hectare island between two branches of the Bani River, a tributary of the Niger”. [1] The town lies in the Inner Niger Delta area (a series of lakes, and floodplains located south of the Sahara desert), which is very different from the Niger delta which lies on the western border of Nigeria.

[E2] Djenne-map

I recall trying to explain my appreciation for this subset of African Terracotta artform to a friend, and failing miserably. On further thought I realize a large part of the problem was trying to map the artistic concepts of Rhythm and Motion to a sculptural tradition that beautifully explored more abstract ideas of Emotion, Pain, and Containment.

[E3] Djenne terracotta – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Another intriguing aspect of the sculpture is the unnatural flexibility of the subject, and the pattern of raised deformations on the back.

[E4] Djenne terracotta – Metropolitan Museum of Art

“The bodies sometimes show heavy scarifications, scabs, pustules, or blisters… perhaps due to filariose, a tropical and subtropical disease transmitted by mosquitos. The adult form is a white, thread-like worm which enters the human through the skin at night”. [1]

[1] http://www.memoiredafrique.com/en/djenne/histoire.php
[E1],[E3],[E4] photo credit aplusafricanart.com
[E2] http://www.memoiredafrique.com/en/djenne/histoire.php