Mbembe 97 specific leaders. The massive standi ng male figure holding a trophy head in his left hand that is larger in scale than his own (fig. 8) was identified as Appia, a great chief and, at the age of sixty-seven, founder of Appia koun, the village that bears his name. It was said to have been carved seventeen years before his death in 1613. This figure’s clenched bared teeth, dramatically broad squared torso, and muscular rounded buttocks combine with the fractured surface of the wood’s grain define a formidable, forceful, and brutal character. A formally closely related seated figure of commanding presence is posed with knees bent and supports an even larger trophy head on its left side while gazing up and beyond the viewer (fig. 9). His torso is narrower at the summit and expands as a rounded volume in the area of the stomach. Its subject was identified as the sixteenth-century founder of the village of Mabana, remembered for his own exemplary bravery, which he instilled in the warriors he trained. Oral tradition recounts that Mabana requested that his renown be expanded by having his work brought to Abubra, the main town of his people. There sacrifices were made to give thanks following victorious battles. Given that the work in question has been carbon-14 dated to 1785 +/- 35, linking this work to this oral tradition is approximate at best. A third sculpture, the slender, tensed torso of a standing figure with arms at its sides now missing its forearms, hands, and head has been associated with Chief N’Ko (fig. 10). The absence of the head is accounted for in the following statement to the notables of N’Koum before his death: I know that after our death, our great grandsons will know more comfortable centuries than our own; but to remind them that this ease comes from us, who have fought for their freedom, I ask that the head of my sculpture be cut off and buried with the rest of my body. This will remind them that numerous heads were severed for their liberty but if our faces have disappeared, our powers will lead them nonetheless (Kamer 1974). Mothers While the depiction of the fiercely aggressive male figure spoke to the heroic character of the community’s defenders, that of the serene, life-sustaining mother addressed the essential role of its women in assuring prosperity through numerous offspring (Cole and Aniakor 1984: 88). Through images of motherhood, tribute was paid at once to their contribution to the growth, expansion, and prosperity of their families and communities, as well as to the profound nature of the biological connection between a mother and her off- FIG. 11 (left): Mother and child. Mbembe, Ewayon River region, Cross River Province, Nigeria. 17th–18th century. Provenance: O. Traoré, Lomé, Togo; Hélène Kamer, Paris, 1973–1994; current owner since 1994. Wood. H: 88.5 cm. Private collection. Photo: © BAMW Photography. FIG. 12 (below): Mother and child. Mbembe, Ewayon River region, Cross River Province, Nigeria. 17th–18th century. Provenance: O. Traoré, Lomé, Togo; Hélène Kamer, Paris, 1973–1974; private collection, Japan, 1974–2010; Christie’s, Paris, 2010. Wood, pigment, resin, nails. H: 108 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, 2010 and 2008 Benefit Funds, Laura G. and James J. Ross, David and Holly Ross, Noah-Sadie K. Wachtel Foundation Inc., and Mrs. Howard J. Barnet Gifts, 2010 (2010.256). Photo: © The Photograph Studio, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
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