Ceremonial Hoe
1 of 4
Object Label
Dan women form cooperative work groups to plant their rice farms. They use short-handled hoes for their labor. Each community chooses the leader of the work group based on her reputation for energy and leadership. As a symbol of her role as an important community leader, she carries a hoe carved with a figurative handle on those public occasions in which she wishes to show her status.
These hoes are examples of how utilitarian items may be embellished and elaborated to take on symbolic value. The heads on the handles may have been carved as portraits of the owners, or they may represent the artist\'s conception of an ideal face.
Caption
Feia Tomekpa Dan, flourished 1940s–early 1950s; Dan. Ceremonial Hoe, 20th century. Wood, iron, 15 × 2 × 4 1/4 × 8 in. (38.1 × 5.1 × 10.8 × 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Leyden, 87.216.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.216.2_front_PS6.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Culture
Title
Ceremonial Hoe
Date
20th century
Geography
Place made: Garplay, Liberia
Medium
Wood, iron
Classification
Dimensions
15 × 2 × 4 1/4 × 8 in. (38.1 × 5.1 × 10.8 × 20.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Leyden
Accession Number
87.216.2
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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