1969.S.196 Standing female figure (_biteki_)

Posed in a flex-kneed position, this biteki is distinguished by a roughly diamond-shaped head from which the nose and mouth project at a sharp angle. The prominent collarlike shoulders blend into the arms bent at the elbow. The hands are joined at chest level. 

Suku figure carvings were used as receptacles or supports for magical preparations that can cause or cure illness and protect the owner and his home. The herbal preparations were made for a specific purpose and packed into holes in the figure or placed in bags that were either attached to or hung from the figure. This figure exemplifies one method of "charging" the sculpture with magical preparations. The encrusted surface of its face and neck suggests the figure was anointed with sacrificial materials.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.196