Zlan, Sonzlanwon, and others
Portrait of a Woman
Dan, before 1929
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Wood, cloth, plant fibers, iron, pigment, 14 x 5 3/8 x 4 5/16 in. (35.5 x 13.6 x 10.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Catherine O'Carroll Bussell and Robert Bruce Bussell, Arlington, Virginia
Object Number
1998.442
Given the name Zlan, meaning God, great talent has always been expected of the famous Dan artist. This portrait sculpture captures the beauty and personality of a client’s wife. The lines of decorative scarification on her breasts, sternum, and shoulders emphasize her upright posture and strength, while the bracelets and carefully plaited braids highlight her fashionable taste. The slight twist of her head and the resolute stance of her arms and shoulders suggest a powerful personality.
As Zlan aged, his wife, Sonzlanwon, helped complete his commissions and may have sculpted or finished this portrait. Collected in Liberia by Bruce Bussell, an American appointed to the upper echelon of the Liberian government, the sculpture has resided in Baltimore since 1929.
Field Photo:
Hans Himmelheber, Negerkunst and Negerkunster, 1960
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.
African Reinstallation, "The Artist," Apr 2015, Wurtzburger Galleries, Kathryn Gunsch.
Frederick John Lamp, "See the Music Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art." New York: Prestel, 2003, p.277, ill.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
