Fon. Altar (asen), late 19th century. Iron, pigment, and wood, 50 x 12 in. Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1990.19. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.19_PS2.jpg)
Fon. Altar (asen), late 19th century. Iron, pigment, and wood, 50 x 12 in. Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1990.19. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.1990.19_print_bw.jpg)
Fon. Altar (asen), late 19th century. Iron, pigment, and wood, 50 x 12 in. Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1990.19. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.19.jpg)
Altar (asen)
Arts of Africa
Asen altars serve as monuments to the dead for the Fon. Placed in family shrines, they become the focus of interaction with ancestors. This asen is from Ouidah, a coastal city whose trade with Europeans (initially Portuguese) was flourishing as early as the seventeenth century. Thus, the central figure, which represents the deceased, wears a stovepipe hat, smokes a pipe, sits on a straight-backed chair, and stands beneath an umbrella—all symbols that derive their power from association with powerful European traders. This work has been attributed to Akati Akpene Kendo, a well-known artist in the service of the Fon king Glele (r. 1858–89).
CULTURE
Fon
MEDIUM
Iron, pigment, and wood
DATES
late 19th century
DIMENSIONS
50 x 12 in. (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of Africa
ACCESSION NUMBER
1990.19
CREDIT LINE
Frank L. Babbott Fund
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Fon. Altar (asen), late 19th century. Iron, pigment, and wood, 50 x 12 in. Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1990.19. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.19_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 1990.19_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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