AMICA ID:
|
MMA_.1979.206.1470
|
AMICA Library Year:
|
2000
|
Object Type:
|
Sculpture
|
Creator Nationality:
|
Asian; Pacific; Polynesian; Tongan
|
Creator Name-CRT:
|
Tongan people
|
Title:
|
Female Figure
|
View:
|
Full View
|
Creation Date:
|
early 19th century
|
Creation Start Date:
|
1800
|
Creation End Date:
|
1833
|
Materials and Techniques:
|
Whale ivory
|
Dimensions:
|
H. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
|
AMICA Contributor:
|
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
|
Owner Location:
|
New York, New York, USA
|
ID Number:
|
1979.206.1470
|
Credit Line:
|
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
|
Rights:
|
|
Context:
|
Although most Polynesian peoples appear to have made and used human images, few such objects have survived to the present day. Most were destroyed under the influence of Christian missionaries, who viewed such sculptures as "graven images." Small female figures in ivory were known from the Tongan archipelago as early as the late eighteenth century. Formerly referred to as goddesses, these figures are now thought to represent important female ancestors. A number of Tongan ivories were traded to the neighboring Fiji islands, where they were used during religious rites. This particularly expressive example was collected on the Fijian island of Viti Levu by the Reverend Cyril G. Hawdon in 1868. |
Related Image Identifier Link:
|
MMA_.ao1979.206.1470.R.tif
|