Innumerable objects across time and space articulate concepts of gender and assist men and women to negotiate their differences and their areas of interdependence. Certain works reinforce the power of one gender over the other, while others express the complementarity of female and male attributes. Works of art may also reflect gender roles as they are perceived in the spirit world. The objects shown here demonstrate how cultures devise their own ways of conceiving female and male categories and of translating those concepts into art forms that work to bridge and reconcile differences.
Headdress with motorcycle and rider (ere gelede)
Artist: Eloi Lokossou (Republic of Benin, artistäs dates unknown)
Yoruba peoples
Republic of Benin
Early 1990’s
Wood and paint
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous Gift. X2006.5.1
Object Name: Headdress (ere gelede)
Artist: Attributed to Labintan (Otta, Nigeria, d. ca. 1930)
Culture: Yoruba peoples
Place of Origin: Otta, Nigeria
Date/Era: Late 19th to 20th century
Dimensions: L: 31 cm
Medium/Materials: Wood, paint, laundry bluing
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.4742
Object Name: Male figure with child on back
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Teke peoples
Place of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date/Era: Late 19th to early 20th century
Medium/Materials: Wood, brass, metal
Dimensions: H: 53.4 cm
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.5463
Object Name: Male figure
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Mbole peoples
Place of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date/Era: 19th century
Medium/Materials: Wood, paint
Dimensions: H: 61.00 cm, W: 16.50 cm, D: 11.00 cm
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.7486
Not Currently On View in Intersections
Object Name: Female figure
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Luba peoples
Place of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date/Era: 18th – 19th century
Dimensions: H: 31.00 cm, W: 11.00 cm, D: 12.00 cm
Medium/Materials: Wood, textile, metal beads, fiber cord, pigment
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.7488
Object Name: Headdress (ere egungun olode)
Artist: Attributed to Adugbologe (d. Circa. 1940)
Culture: Yoruba peoples
Place of Origin: Abeokuta, Nigeria
Date/Era: Made prior to 1922
Dimensions: H: 45.0 cm, W: 41.0 cm, D: 33.0 cm (H: 17.7 in, W: 16.1 in, D: 12.9 in)
Medium/Materials: Wood and pigment
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.
Accession Number: X65.9051
Headdress (ere egungun olode)
Yoruba peoples
Nigeria
19th-early 20th century
Wood, cotton, cloth, paint
H: 31.0 cm, W: 47.0 cm, D: 37.0 cm (H: 12.2 in, W: 18.5 in, D: 14.5 in)
Folwer Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust. X65.9148
Object Name: Nature spirits (asie usu)
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Baule peoples
Place of Origin: Côte d’Ivoire
Date/Era: 19th century
Dimensions: H (female): 45.7 cm; H (male): 48.3 cm
Medium/Materials: Wood
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of George G. Frelinghuysen.
Accession Number: X67.2033ab
Knife (piso) and sheath
Batak peoples
Sumatra, Indonesia
19th-early 20th century
Wood, metal, seeds
H: 26.7 cm, W: 3.0 cm, D: 3.3 cm (H: 10.5 in, W: 1.2 in, D: 1.3 in)
The Jerome L. Joss Collection. X87.9a,b
Madebele divination couple
Senufo peoples
Céte däIvoire
19th century
Wood, palm oil, metal
H: 23.0 cm, W: 7.5 cm, D: 7.0 cm (H: 9.1 in, W: 2.9 in, D: 2.8 in)
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Harry Steinberg. X92.2a,b
Object Name: Otherworld wife (blolo bla)
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Baule peoples
Place of Origin: Côte d’Ivoire
Date/Era: 20th century
Medium/Materials: Wood and paint
Dimensions: H: 31.0 cm, W: 7.5 cm, D: 8.0 cm (H: 12.2 in, W: 2.9 in, D: 3.1 in)
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous gift.
Accession Number: X94.17.2
Object Name: Otherworld husband (blolo bian)
Artist: Unknown
Culture: Baule peoples
Place of Origin: Côte d’Ivoire
Date/Era: 20th century
Medium/Materials: Wood and paint
Dimensions: H: 33.6 cm
Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Anonymous gift.
Accession Number: X94.18.2