Untitled

Object/Artifact

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Untitled

Entry/Object ID

2001.57.af

Description

Four wooden items with carved faces and gold decoration. At the top of each is cloth creating the look of hair coming from the heads carved at the top.

Context

The Merekun puppet figure is a puppet figure created for plays that were held in theatres. Most notable is the Sogo Bo theatre in Mali. This specific figure is a puppet that represents a female character. The plays in this theatre were mostly for the entertainment of the youth to teach them life lessons through humor, satire and drama. The society surrounding this theatre was target for the youth specifically teaching them how to manipulate the puppets so that the tradition could be passed down. The history of the Sogo Bo theatre dates back to the 14th century where a traveler from Tangiers named Ibn Battuta wrote about the pleasant and poetic performance at the Sogo Bo theatre.

Acquisition

Accession

2001.50-175

Source or Donor

May Weber

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of the May Weber Foundation

Made/Created

Artist

Unidentified Marka artist

Notes

Creation Date: no date

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Continent

Africa

Culture/Tribe

Marka

Notes

Marka Mali, W. Africa Africa West Africa Mali

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Puppet

Nomenclature Class

Public Entertainment Devices

Nomenclature Category

Category 09: Recreational Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

puppets (recreational artifacts), recreational artifacts (equipment), youth (people), people (agents)

Hierarchy Name

Recreational Artifacts (hierarchy name), Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), People (hierarchy name)

Facet

Objects Facet, Agents Facet

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Approximate of all four

Width

10.795 cm

Depth

10.16 cm

Length

46.99 cm