On View
On viewObject number2016.38
Tanoura
Artist
Ibrahim Said
(Egyptian, 1976-)
Date2015
Mediumporcelain
DimensionsOverall: 17 × 14 1/2 × 19 in. (43.2 × 36.8 × 48.3 cm)
Credit LineElisabeth Claire Lahti Fund
Exhibition History"Out of the Fire: Masterworks of Ceramics," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, changing exhibitions galleries (Jan. 14 - Mar. 12, 2017).
"The Way Forward: New Acquisitions at the KIA," July 28 - December 2, 2018.
"Ahead of the Curve: Sculptures from the KIA" at the Center for New Media - Arcus Gallery, Kalamazoo Valley Community College (September 6 - September 27, 2019).
"Unveiling American Genius," KIA Permanent Collection Exhibition, Traditional, Markin, Nay and Groos Galleries (March 1, 2021 - December 31, 2023).Label TextTanura is a sculptural representation of the tanoura dance, a common, Egyptian folk dance performed primarily by Sufi men. Dancers wear a brightly colored skirt (a tanoura) and spin in a fashion similar to the whirling dervishes of Turkey. The dance is meant to be a meditative act with the aim of attaining spiritual purity.
Said is known for creating vessels with loosely figurative elements resembling waists, arms, shoulders, etc. In Tanura he abandons all functionality of the vessel in order to explore the human form in motion. The sculpture is also adorned with a geometric pattern—a common practice in Islamic art.
