Dan and Ldamie
Female Figure Holding a Knife
Dan, 1900-1932
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Copper alloy, 17.3 x 7.5 x 5 cm.
Credit Line
Gift of Catherine O'Carroll Bussell and Robert Bruce Bussell, Arlington, Virginia
Object Number
1998.446
Brass-cast figures such as these were brought out by a fire where their faceted surfaces and muscular forms would capture the light of the flames and impress distinguished visitors. They were commissioned by leaders and other men of means in Dan society as status symbols. These eight works of art are all attributed to the renowned artist, Ldamie. According to his son, Ldamie became so famous for his casting skill and attention to intricate detail that 'he was carried everywhere in a hammock [as a sign of prestige], and he never again had to walk.'
Text paired with "Ldamie. Liberia. Donner, 1940. From Four Dan Sculptors: Continuity and Change by Barbara Johnson, 1986, p.53."
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1998; collected in Liberia between 1923-1929 by the parents of donor (Bruce Bussell): Conrad Turner Bussell and Pauline Bussell. Mr. Bussell was sent by the U.S. Government under President Calvin Coolidge to survey the boundaries of Liberia. He was, instead, made Supervisor of Customs by President Charles Dunbar Burgess King of Liberia, and later made Financial Advisor to President King. Mrs. Bussell arrived in 1926.
Meditations on African Art: Light
