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I had long thought that the sculptures of stilt dancers were the work of Ldamie, but now believe that only one might be so. I reached the initial conclusion because Etta Becker-Donner said she was only familiar with two brass casters in Liberia, one a Dan and the other Kran. For the most part, she identified which schools the work she surveyed had come from. In Kunst und Handwerk in NO Liberia, she illustrated a stilt walker, but did not indicate which school the maker belonged to. I assumed that if there were only two possibilities, Ldamie was the more likely, since the style was definitely not Bwayen (Bwaiwehn).
In looking again at the collection in Brooklyn Museum, I found two objects that couldn't have been found on a search for Ldamie or Bwayen, using their names as the search terms; that is, the artist named Duahn Yibay. Then, with a new reading of Barbara Johnson's essay in Iowa Studies in African Art, Volume II (1987), I found another reference to Duahn Yibay. On p. 56, Johnson
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writes: "Woto, formerly paramount chief and now a congressman in Monrovia, recalled brass caster who worked for his father. This artist, Duahn Yibay, was from Kpeaple, and died in the 1930s. Woto particularly recalled the brass figures of stilt dancers by this caster."
Two stilt dancers by this artist are included in the collection of Brooklyn Museum and are included in this gallery, as well as four more that are stylistically very similar. A seventh stilt dancer is included in this gallery, although I think it is more likely the work of Ldamie. Compare the body proportions, style, features and belt, with another figure clearly known to have been made by Ldamie.
The images in this gallery begins with a recent photograph of a stilt dancer in Nimba county, included in the blog of Emmanuel (no last name given).
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Devil Mask Stilt Dancer from Nimba County, Liberia
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Figure 013013
Artist: Duane Yibay / Liberia;
male figure on stilts; collected in
Brooklyn Expedition of 1922: brass
(copper alloy); 24 1/4 x 4 3/4 x 3in.
(61.6 x 12.1 x 7.6cm); collection of
Brooklyn Museum, No 22-272
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Figure 013012
Artist: Duahn Yibay / Liberia; male
figure on stilts; brass (copper alloy);
20 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 1 3/8 in. (52.1 x 13.3 x 3.5 cm);
Gift of Henry Glaze; collection of
Brooklyn Museum, No. 1992.71.2
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Figure 012006
Artist: Duane Yibay /
Liberia; male figure on stilts;
collected before 1939 by
Dr. Rudolf Fuszek; brass
(copper alloy); Etta Becker-
Donner "Kunst und Handwerk
in NO-Liberia"; p. 51.
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Figure 008015
Artist: Duane Yibay /
Liberia; man on stilts; brass
(copper alloy); 24 (61 cm); private
collection:
AHDRC Search No: 0067748
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Figure 008046
Artist: Duane Yibay /
Liberia; man on stilts; brass
(copper alloy); 26-3/4 [11 in. for man]
(68 cm [28 for man]); private collection:
AHDRC Search No: 0067750
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Figure 025004
Artist: Duane Yibay
Man on Stilts
Wereldmuseum Amsterdam
Inventarisnummer : AM-535-5
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While there is no definitive collection data, the following figure was probably cast by Ldamie (Click on "Enlarge" for better view).
Compare the body proportions, style, and features; narrow rope belt; and lack of the lower body skirt; with another figure with similar features that is clearly known to have been made by Ldamie. That figure, Figure 018002, was collected by Etta Becker-Donner, and identified as a Ldamie figure. Moreover, while all of the other figures have a circular base with a circular opening, the base on this figure seems to be solid, with no circular opening (another case where physical inspection would be useful).
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Figure 008045
Artist: Probably Ldamie /
Liberia; man on stilts; brass
(copper alloy); 17-3/4 [9 in. for man]
(45 cm [23 for man]); private collection:
AHDRC Search No: 0067749
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Figure 018002
Artist: Ldamie; Dan People / Liberia;
male figure with bound hands; collected
prior to 1936 by Etta Becker-Donner;
brass (copper alloy); collection of
Welt Museum Wien, Inv. No. 126145
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