"Prestige" Part 1

I have chosen to divide this blog post into two parts. The first will be published on the evening of Sunday Nov. 6th, before I have seen my figure in person and read its accession file (which contains information on its collection history); the second part will be published on the evening of Monday Nov. 7th, after I have spent a number of hours with the piece and learning about its history. I am anticipating at least some major changes to my analysis of its level of prestigiousness after I have learned of its acquisition.

LOW TO PRESTIGE IN ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT

The value of the piece in its original context was determined, I believe, by the commissioner and the keepers of the piece after its initial use. Depending on which of the conflicting sources I choose to believe, the piece would have various levels of prestige.

According to Bamana, by Jean-Paul Colleyn (2009), the jonyeleniw (small Nyele, or nyeleni figure) would be held by select initiates while they "travel for a period of six months and appear in small groups from village to village, carrying a bag to receive gifts," as part of the initiation process. After the initiation rites come to a close, "the statues have their finery removed and are stored away for their next appearance" (33).

This is in stark contrast to the Kate Ezra article I previous referenced, where she says that, post-initiation, the statues are given to young girls as dolls for play. Interestingly enough, in my mind, whether or not Colleyn or Ezra is correct plays an important role in my judgment of the "prestige" level of the object. If the statues are stored carefully and respectfully, sanctioning them for the coming year, I would assume a high level of prestige. If they are stored hastily, dustily, like Christmas lights after the holidays, I would assume a lower level. And if they were merely tossed aside to the children, never restored to their former glory, I would assume very little prestige indeed.

Still, it is agreed that only select Jo initiates get to carry a nyeleni throughout their initiation. I cannot know for sure yet, but my assumption is that the initiates whose families could afford to commission a statuette were the ones who were privileged to hold one. This leads me to believe that the object was, in fact, relatively prestigious.

On the other hand, the standing of the Jo in comparison to other Bamana jow ("religious complex," according to Bamana: The Art of Existence in Mali by editor Jean-Pail Colleyn, 2001) also contributes to my assessment of prestige. Colleyn stated in 2009 that, of all the jow, Jo was not the most prestigious and feared; the komo was. Therefore, this figure is not as prestigious as the figures of the komo would be, in both its original and its current context.

Therefore, my conclusion is that the figure was certainly far from commonplace; but it was also far from being one of the most revered objects in its community.

LOW TO PRESTIGE IN ITS CURRENT POSITION

This portion of the blog post will be addressed tomorrow, after I discuss with curators the history of the object's accession, prices that were debated, the process of negotiation and sale, etc.