and dated to 1884, and another a lion from Nsuta from the 1920s (fig. 4). Art in the Cycle of Life Upon entering the Art of Africa gallery, the section to the right features objects that were used to mark or facilitate the important stages of human life, from birth to physical death and the afterlife. This section includes aesthetic objects that aid in the identification and cure of disease, assure health and well being, and seek and punish wrong-doers. To be effective, objects used in divination and healing rituals have to be visually pleasing to the deities and spirits as well as to humans. A Kuba wooden clyster, or enema funnel, decorated with engraved designs demonstrates this notion. Among the key works in this section are an Asante akua’ba female figure (fig. 7); a Luba standing female figure with the elaborate scarification that is acquired upon coming of age; and the recently acquired Songye four-horn community power figure (fig. 8) which soon will complement the Kongo nkisi nkondi mangaaka power figure (fig. 10) that was on loan to the Kongo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the inaugural. In addition to a range of Songye and Kongo power figures is the mixed media figure sculpture Fetish #2 by American contemporary artist Renée Stout, whose work is inspired by such objects. A large Yoruba arugba (seated female figure holding a container for Shango ritual objects) by Akobi Ogun Fakeye (c. 1870–1946) is on view here for the first time (fig. 9). Kota, Fang, and Ambete reliquary guardian figures; an Akan terracotta memorial FIG. 7 (top left): Doll, akua’ba. Asante, Ghana. 20th century. Wood, glass beads, fiber. H: 28.6 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Henry H. Hawley III, inv. 1981.173. FIG. 8 (left): Four-horn community power figure. Songye, Lomami River, Southeastern Congo, DR Congo. Late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, copper, metal, fiber, civet (Civettictis civetta) hide, common waterbuck antelope (Kobus ellipsiprumnus) horns and domestic goat (Capra hircus) horn, beads, organic materials. H: 55.9 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., inv. 2014.4.1.McD. FIG. 9 (bottom left): Caryatid vessel, arugba Shango, attributed to Akobi Ogun Fakeye. Yoruba, Ila Orangun, Nigeria. Late 19th–c. 1940. Wood, pigment. H: 106 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus, inv. 1981.138.A-B.FA. FIG. 10 (right): Standing power figure, nkisi nkondi. Yombe, Chiloango River region, DR Congo. Late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, raffia, ceramic, pigment, kaolin, red camwood, resin, dirt, leaves, animal skin, cowrie shell. H: 111.1 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the McDermott Foundation, inv. 1996.184.FA.
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