Male Figure
late 1800s-early 1900s
Maker Unknown
African Art
Male Figure, late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker. Wood, ceramic or Formica, copper alloy, and iron alloy; overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 16.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.428 This sculpture played a role in ancestral worship among the Beembe people. Ancestors are held in high regard among the Beembe, and this figure is thought to represent an idealized form of a deceased individual within the ethnic group. The object is one of only two seated male Beembe figures of this size in Western institutions. This figure is considered “monumental” as most other types of Beembe figures measure about 15 centimeters tall.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Wood, ceramic or Formica, copper alloy, and iron alloy
- Dimensions
- Overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 16.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.)
- Departments
- African Art
- Accession Number
- 2010.428
- Credit Line
- René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Exhibitions
- Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (October 31, 1970 - February 10, 1971), Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (June 16 - September 30, 1972), <em>Utotombo: L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges.</em> Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium (March 25 - June 5, 1988), Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (July 7 - September 30, 1990), Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (November - January 1991)
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 108A Sub-Saharan
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