Ceremonial Ladle (Wunkirmian or Wakemia) (possibly late 1800s or early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Ceremonial Ladle (Wunkirmian or Wakemia) (possibly late 1800s or early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

An emblem of great prestige, this human-shaped ladle would have been owned by a distinguished married woman recognized for her talents as a farmer and her exceptional generosity and hospitality. One of her responsibilities was to host a grand Feast of Merit when she, along with other highly respected women, prepared food for a large number of local and foreign guests. During the feast the women danced brandishing their rice-filled ladles while singing in strident voices.

Object facts

• Title: Ceremonial Ladle (Wunkirmian or Wakemia)
• Date: possibly late 1800s or early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Dan-style carver
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, twine, and possibly resin
• Dimensions: Overall: 56.8 x 11.2 x 7 cm (22 3/8 x 4 7/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2013.52

A detail from the museum

This ladle was a status symbol for a notable woman.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. "An Obsession with Heads: The Impact of African Arts, Anthropology, and Photography on the Works of Alberto Giacometti," Medium (May 2022).
• Petridis, Constantine. “2013 Acquisitions: African Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 2 (March/April 2014): 22.
• Petridis, Constantine. "Honoring Women: A feast ladle of the Dan people of West Africa.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 5 (September/October 2014): 19-20.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.