NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART 99 Bangwa figure, the former among her earliest acquisitions and the latter one of the last she acquired before her death in 1973. These two sculptures contrast sharply in form and aesthetic qualities. With its elegantly upward- and backward-curving horns, the fine chi-wara (fig. 2) is one of the most widely recognized forms in African art. It contrasts starkly with the Bangwa female commemorative figure (fig. 9), with the formal boldness of its inwardturned feet, slightly turned head, and protruding mouth with pointed teeth. Unknown to Hirshberg was the figure’s unusual iconography and its possible attribution to a master carver, Ateu Atsa.12 Although few in number, such rare and formally bold sculptures from the Hirshberg Collection are worth singling out. Like Hirshberg, Gussman did not shrink from collecting objects from lesser-known groups or from placing formal rarity alongside the familiar. Two rare sculptures stand out among works from the northeastern and southwestern groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in his collection. First is a female figure from the Metoko peoples (fig. 10), a group whose sculptures remain little known. It displays a strong interplay of rounded and angular forms. The feet, turned inward, counterbalance the slightly outward curved arms. Dotted lines of white pigment representing scarifications delineate the torso, neck, and back, and the scarifications in the form of rectangles located on each side of the cheek and the backs of the upper arms are a distinctive feature. Little documentation exists on the Metoko, so not surprisingly the symbolic meaning of this structured scarification remains unknown.13With its sturdy body, stylized arms held close to the sides of the torso, close-set eyes inlaid with shell, and open-triangle mouth is a similarly imposing figurative sculpture (fig. 12) attributed to the broad northwestern cultural area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that includes groups such as the Nbaka, Ngala, and Mongelima.14 Unexpected formal stances and types of objects characterize the Gussman Collection. The atypical position on a Yaka figure of outstretched arms (fig. 13) instead of hands placed on the chest is combined with the stylistic characteristic of an upturned nose typical of Yaka figurative sculptures. This gesture is counterbalanced by the angular forms of the buttocks and squatting legs. Are there other known figures in this position? What is its significance? These are questions that have been only tentatively answered.15 Within the arts of the well-known Fang groups and their neighbors, the Gussman Collection features two major examples (figs. 18 and 19), one uncommon in its typology and iconography and the other of a kind rarely found in a private collection. An anthro- FIG. 8 (left): Standing figure, ekpu. Oron, Nigeria. Late 18th–early 19th century. Camwood (Pterocarpus). H: 74.9 cm. Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, inv. 1979.19.04. Gift of Eliot P. Hirshberg from the Aimee W. Hirshberg Collection of African Art. Photo: Jose Smith. FIG. 9 (right): Commemorative figure, anyi or ngwindem. Unidentified Bangwa kingdom, Cameroon. Attributed to the master sculptor Ateu Atsa or Efuetlacha or his atelier. Early 20th century. Wood. H: 87.6 cm. Ex Philippe Guimiot, late 1960s; R. Rolin & Co., 1970–71; Aimee W. Hirshberg. Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, inv. 1976.28.17. Gift of Eliot P. Hirshberg from the Aimee W. Hirshberg Collection of African Art. Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
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