Shrine Figure (misi or mishi)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s-early 1900s
Medium
Wood and cotton
Dimensions
48.6 × 15.6 × 17.2 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Katherine C. White
Accession Number
1969.10
About this artwork
This figure was used in an ancestral cult dedicated to the founders of small political groupings. Such figures were usually kept in the same shrine with a number of stylistically related male and female carvings that represented ancestors. At times of crisis, the custodian of the shrine spent the night in close proximity to the images, bringing offerings to the ancestors in exchange for their support.