Pair of Figures
late 1800s-early 1900s
Maker Unknown
African Art
Pair of Figures, late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, probably Ngbandi-style carver. Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, glass beads, plant fiber, and cloth; part 1: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.); part 2: 41 x 13 x 11.5 cm (16 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.459 Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbandi and its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. Field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Odette Delenne, the collector of this pair, once stated that these figures reminded her of herself and her husband, René.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, glass beads, plant fiber, and cloth
- Dimensions
- Part 1: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.); Part 2: 41 x 13 x 11.5 cm (16 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
- Departments
- African Art
- Accession Number
- 2010.459
- Credit Line
- René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Exhibitions
- Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger, Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (October 31, 1970 - February 10, 1971), Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, BE (March 25-June 5, 1988), Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (July 7-September 30, 1990), Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (November-January 1991), Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, FR, June 2000
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 108A Sub-Saharan
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