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Ancestral figure representing a hermaphrodite

Photograph
1935 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Photograph from an exhibition of African art displaying a back view of a Dogon figure of a hermaphrodite. The figure is made from wood and is from the Bandiagara region of Mali.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAncestral figure representing a hermaphrodite (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photograph
Brief description
Photograph by Walker Evans depicting a wooden sculpted figure of a hermaphrodite from French Sudan (modern day Mali) at a Museum of Modern Art exhibition entitled 'African Negro Art'. New York, 1935.
Physical description
Photograph from an exhibition of African art displaying a back view of a Dogon figure of a hermaphrodite. The figure is made from wood and is from the Bandiagara region of Mali.
Dimensions
  • Height of figure height: 27.25in
Dimensions taken from Museum of Modern Art catalogue accompanying the exhibition of 1935
Object history
NB: The term "negro" was used historically to describe people of black African heritage but, since the 1960s, has fallen from usage and, increasingly, is considered offensive. The term is repeated here in its original historical context.

Historically, the term hermaphrodite was used to describe people born with sex characteristics which do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies. The word intersex has come into preferred usage for humans, since the word hermaphrodite is now considered to be stigmatizing as well as clinically problematic. The term is repeated in this record in its original historical context.

This ancestral figure embodies the spirit of the family and is used in burial ceremonies of the Dogon people of Mali, near the city of Bandiagara.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • AFRICAN NEGRO ART Photographs by Walker Evans List of Photographs The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935
  • African Negro Art Edited by James Johnson Sweeney, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935
Collection
Accession number
1996-1936

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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