Object of the Week: Yoruba Sculpture of a Wedding Procession

Sculpture
Yoruba people, Nigeria
Wood, cowrie shell and beads; 6 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.
Bowers Museum Acquisition Fund Purchase
Bowers Museum #77.73.1

This unique wood carving of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, illustrates a wedding procession depicting five male and eight female figures aligned in five rows. Each figure has been carved separately in the round and attached to the base. A man and a woman appear as the central figures of the procession. He bears diamond shaped incisions on his cheeks, representing scarification patterns, and carries a large pipe in his mouth. The woman holds her long braided tresses in each hand. The remaining figures are wearing beads and/or cowrie shells. Serpents are carved along each side of the plate. In Yoruba mythology the sacred non-poisonous python in a symbol of life and eternity and, in some legends, instructs man and woman in the mystery of procreation. Cowrie shells have been used as fertility symbols for many centuries.

The Yoruba wedding is an occasion for feasting and celebrating. The festivities begin at the bride's house after dark with a feast celebrated by family and friends. The bride is dressed in her finest clothes and is blessed by her parents and then accompanied to the groom's house by the group attending the feast. The procession moves through the streets, dancing and singing to the accompaniment of hired drummers. At the groom’s home her followers stay until daybreak, singing and making merry.

This object will be on view at the Peabody Essex Museum through September, 2008 as part of the exhibition Wedded Bliss: The Marriage of Art and Ceremony.

All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Mexican Brandy Still

Brandy Still, c.1776-1831
Mexican origin; used Southern California
Copper; 53 x 36 in.
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. John Forster
Bowers Museum #2810

This brandy still belonged to Don Juan Forster who reportedly purchased it during one of his many sea voyages. It is the first still to be brought to Alta (Upper) California. Don Juan had a reputation for producing fine liquors and it was said that his wine could not be surpassed. Brandy was manufactured by both the missions and early rancheros for exchange with foreign traders. Brandy, and alcoholic liquor distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice, frequently served as a medicinal or curative liquid. The riveted seams of this vessel are done in a typical Spanish metal-working technique.

John Forster was the only non-Hispanic rancho grantee in Orange County. He came to California from Guaymas, Mexico in 1833 and married Maria Ysidora Pico. John Forster was so well accepted that he received a Spanish name. An Englishman who had become a Mexican citizen, John Forster appears in many of the early documents of the era as "Don Juan Forster."

All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Jozef Chelmonski's Sielanka (An Idyll)

Sielanka (An Idyll), 1885
Jozef Chelmonski (Polish, 1849-1914)
Oil on Canvas; 48 x 28 in.
Gift of the Estate of Amadeus Gustavus Langenberger
Bowers Museum #7601

This painting by Polish artist Jozef Chelmonski, was a wedding gift from the artist to Madame Helena Modjeska (1840-1909), Poland’s most famous stage actress, and her husband Charles Bozenta Chlapowski upon their marriage in 1868. The couple prominently displayed the painting in the library of their Modjeska Canyon home Arden. The painting exemplifies the people and landscapes of country life that Chelmonski’s work is acclaimed for.

Modjeska was already an established star on the Polish stage when she came to the U.S. in 1876. Mastering her roles in English she soon became an icon of the American stage. Madame Modjeska died in Newport Beach, April 8, 1909. In 2009, Poland will celebrate “The Year of Modjeska” and Bowers Museum is working to collaborate with Polish museums on an exhibit that celebrates her life by lending our collection of Modjeska’s costumes, textiles, jewelry, photographs, archival material and this Chelmonski painting. We look forward to updating you on this exciting project.

All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Sawos Food Bowls

Food Bowls, 20th century
Sawos People, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Ceramic and natural pigments; 12.25 diameter each
Bowers Museum #2004.6.38; 2004.6.44
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. David and Karina Rilling

These food bowls are part of a larger collection originating from the Sawos people in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Each highly decorated utilitarian bowl is made by women who construct them by coiling method. Men decorate the bowls by incising curvilinear and arciform designs mirrored on two or more sides of the bowls; outstanding motifs mimic nature or are representative of spirits. After the women low fire the bowls, the men heavily apply natural red, yellow and white pigments. The bowls, despite their elaborateness, are used for everyday eating and when not in use they are stored with their openings towards the ground to ensure visibility of their beautiful designs. Sawos bowls are found throughout the middle Sepik river region because they are traded to neighboring villages for fish, tobacco and other goods.

Ceramics of Sustenance: Elaborate Vessels of the Sawos, Papua New Guinea, an exhibition featuring 32 of these ornate and finely crafted bowls will be on exhibit at the Anthropology Teaching Museum at California State University, Fullerton beginning Tuesday, April 15, 2008.















All text and images under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Chinese Terracotta Horse

Horse
Chinese; Song – early Ming Dynasty (AD 960-c.1460)
Terracotta; 36 x 31 in.
Gift of Heather Sacre
Bowers Museum #2001.6.1.1-.3

Horses have played a vital role in the history of China for thousands of years. Some evidence suggests that they were first domesticated as early as the 13th century BC. During the Han Dynasty the Chinese Emperor Wudi began a vigorous breeding program that introduced new horses from the north and west Asian continent. The results were larger, heftier and stronger horses especially useful in military operations. The custom of bringing found and captured horses from other regions for the purpose of developing superior breeds became customary. In this way, the horse transcended its role as transport and beast of burden and came to represent prestige, power, wealth and success. The lavish tombs of Chinese emperors and nobility often contained large and full size terracotta horses. In the most elaborate cases, terracotta horses are found accompanying chariots and as components of terracotta armies.

The horse pictured here possesses traits of good breeding and care taking including attentive ears, bulging eyes, flaring nostrils, a manicured mane and a knotted tail. The open mouth and raised front leg add to the liveliness of the horse.

All images and text under copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.