Vol. I · The open image paperWinnipeg · Musée sans mursRecovered · Remembered · Returned
Cleveland Museum of Art153765portraitAteu Atsa (Bangwa, c. 1840–1910)mid-1800s–1910CC0cma african-global-heritage portraits objects-with-gravity african global heritage objects with gravity african art wood sculpture tribal art spirit figure mask ritual dark wood brown tones geometric abstract traditional culture statue carving ethnic ancient portrait silhouette commemorative figure lefemAteu Atsa (Bangwa, c. 1840–1910) mid-1800s–1910 Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Bangwa Kingdom wood Sculpture African PortraitAfrican & Global Heritage Faces in Time Objects with Gravity
Practical reuse
Use this artwork.
Verified CC0
This record carries an explicit open-use marker in the source metadata. Download the publication copy or follow the museum record for its master image.
Commemorative figure (lefem) by Ateu Atsa (Bangwa, c. 1840–1910) (mid-1800s–1910). Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund Rights: CC0. https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.62
Vault de Lupin makes the source signal legible; it does not provide legal advice or replace the institution’s current rights statement.
From the museum record
Carved during their subject's lifetime, such idealized portraits function as their living stand-ins or intermediaries. Adorned with royal attire consisting of a bristled cloth cap, beaded necklace, pleated loincloth, drinking horn, and now-broken pipe, this figure was carved as a commemorative portrait of a historical king or high dignitary. It was kept by a secret association called Lefem , whose members gathered weekly in a sacred space in the forest to discuss matters related to the kingdom's welfare. Placed in a royal shrine, the figure witnessed sacrifices made to the skulls of the chief’s ancestors. Meant to safeguard the kingdom and protect the fecundity of its inhabitants, it was also exhibited during funerals and royal ceremonies.
Lupin’s visual index
A weathered, dark-brown wooden figure depicts a stylized African spirit with intricate facial features and a ceremonial staff.
Machine-assisted description · useful for discovery, not scholarship.
.webp)
.webp)
