Bwami Society Figure (iginga)

Artist Lega artist

Dateearly 20th century (before 1930s)

MediumIvory

Dimensions6 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (15.2 x 4.4 x 3.5 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes

Object numberGL.72.19.9

On View

Not on view

Label TextThe Bwami society is historically responsible for guiding the moral development of Lega individuals. Although simple in form, Bwami visual arts are intellectually complex. Any single object can be used to teach many lessons, and an object accumulates layers of meaning and beauty over time. Due to Bwami’s secretive, instructive nature, the Belgian colonial government outlawed it in the 1930s, and artworks flooded the European market.

Originally described in the 1800s as “crude” and “coarsely executed,” Bwami arts became valued by artists and elites and praised for their extraordinary expressiveness, classical lines, and simplicity of form. Meanwhile, Bwami continued, discarding carvings like these in favor of less recognizable instructive arts and thus resisting colonial authority.
[A. Maples, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2024]Published References"Acquisitions," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 12, nos. 1 and 2 (December 1973), group of objects on long-term loan listed 68.Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," June 27, 2023-March 24, 2025. Object Rights Statement

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