ART on View Vestiges of Artists’ Hands Among the dozen original works presented by Leloup in the 1974 show, three distinct hands are apparent in ten of them. The first of these (Sculptor A) appears to have been responsible 100 for the two most idiosyncratic of the mother-and-child figures that both feature a pronounced vertical orientation of the wood grain (figs. 12 and 13). This has raised the question whether these two works were created as independent figures rather than as elements of a slit gong. However, both figures are elevated so that they are seated on the vestiges of some larger structure. It is possible that they were originally two figurative elements from a single drum that was of a more intimate scale. Despite the intense surface erosion, the articulation of facial features remains sharp, allowing one to discern formal parallels across these representations that suggest the hand of a single sculptor. These include the shape of the head that narrows at the chin, the raised form of the ears, the broad cylindrical neck that intersects abruptly with the sharp horizontal of the shoulders, and the merging of the hands with the knees so that the arms and legs form continuous undulating lines. In addition to these signature details, the artist responsible for these two maternity figures favored a concentrated compression of the figures. A marked departure is the more expansive and hieratic approach of another author (Sculptor B). All of these are relatively naturalistic representations that feature bodily arrangements of long limbs and compact heads with pronounced noses and circular ears that are similarly defined (figs. 4, 11, 14, 15, and 16). Finally, the third distinctive hand is apparent in the electrifying depictions of Chiefs Appia and Mabana as well as in one seated female figure (figs. 8, 9, and 20). Mbembe works of more recent vintage make it evident that a great deal of carved iconographic detail and applied pigment was probably originally part of the examples that are now so weathered and abstract (figs. 7, 18, and 19). A maternity figure in the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., retains the greatest amount of detail (fig. 18). In this composition, the mother leans forward over the child that she balances across her bent knees. She cradles the infant’s head with her left hand and protectively places her right hand on its thighs. The face, coiffure, and adornment of the female figure are especially well preserved. The delicate oval face has a narrow nose, thin pointed lips, and scarification in the form of raised lines and dots on the cheeks, temples, forehead, and chin. Inset black seeds are embedded in the cavities of her eyes and the coiffure bears traces of red and dark pigment. A prominent accent is the necklace of leopard teeth around her neck. Although the child’s features can no longer be discerned, there are traces of an elaborate painted coiffure. FIG. 18 (left): Mother and child. Mbembe, Ewayon River region, Cross River Province, Nigeria. Late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, pigment, seeds. H: 68 cm. Provenance: Lucien Van de Velde, Antwerp, before 1973; Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, 1973; Walter Vanden Avenne, Oostrezobeke, Belgium, 1973; Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, 1983. Museum Purchase, National Museum for African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., inv. 85-1-12. Photo: © Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. FIG. 19: Seated male figure with rifle and hat. Mbembe, Ewayon River region, Cross River Province, Nigeria. Late 19th–20th century. Provenance: Merton Simpson, early 1970s. Wood. H: 101 cm. Private collection. Photo: © Pauline Shapiro/Sotheby’s.
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