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Spoon Woman

Vertical black sculpture of rounded and rectangular shapes, suggesting a human figure.
© 2018 Succession Giacometti / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

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  • Vertical black sculpture of rounded and rectangular shapes, suggesting a human figure.

Date:

1926–27 (cast 1954)

Artist:

Alberto Giacometti
Swiss, 1901–1966

About this artwork

Evoking a female body through simplified shapes that suggest a head, shoulders, a chest, and a wide, concave womb, this sculpture was inspired by a ceremonial ladle created by the Dan communities of Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. These objects, known as a wakemia or wunkirmian, likewise incorporate anthropomorphic forms into their construction, and they were exhibited frequently in museums in Paris during the 1920s. Objects like these were of immense interest to European artists, including Alberto Giacometti, who appreciated their geometry, their literal rendering of bodily volumes, and the alternatives they presented to Western modes of modeling and carving.

Status

On View, Gallery 396

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Alberto Giacometti

Title

Spoon Woman

Place

Switzerland (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1926–1927

Medium

Bronze

Edition

4 of 6

Dimensions

146 × 52.1 × 25.4 cm (57 1/2 × 20 1/2 × 10 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Florene M. Schoenborn

Reference Number

1971.880

Copyright

© 2018 Succession Giacometti / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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