Female Figure c. 17th century

Editor: This small wooden sculpture, "Female Figure" from the 17th century, really intrigues me. It's part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection and is attributed to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people. Its simplicity is what gets me. What do you see in this piece that maybe I'm missing? Curator: Ah, she speaks, doesn't she? Not in words, perhaps, but in the hush of old forests and whispered stories. It is true. She’s all economy of line, distilled essence of woman, if you ask me, crafted from the very bones of the earth – wood! – so humble, yet so profound. Editor: "Distilled essence" – I like that. So, beyond the medium, what about its cultural significance? Curator: Imagine the hands that carved her, Editor – hands that knew the feel of bark, the song of the seasons, the rhythm of life in the longhouse. And think on what the female form represented in Haudenosaunee culture. Woman was the sustainer of life, closely tied to the earth, to agriculture, a sacred being, quite honestly! This carving, it could have been for a ritual, to mark a rite of passage…perhaps to honour this essence of being a woman. What do you think about this figure’s frontal pose, though? Anything come to mind? Editor: It makes her seem very present, like she’s directly engaging with you. Almost confrontational, but also very… vulnerable. Curator: Precisely. Present! Exactly the word for a female figure, you got there. And it also brings up for me her powerful stillness, something incredibly rare in a lot of artworks depicting female subjects, eh? Editor: Absolutely. It definitely gives me a lot to think about regarding how female figures are represented in art generally. Curator: And perhaps consider now all that a little wooden carving can convey of presence and history and power. Food for the soul, indeed, as it seems that this artist gave it with the work of her (or his) hands!