Cleveland Museum of Art
Female Figurine or Finial
- Date
- late 1800s-early 1900s
- Medium
- Ivory and iron
- Culture
- Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, Kongo people
- Department
- African Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 168741
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
This ivory figurine most likely served as the finial of a wooden staff or scepter, and owned and used by a high-ranking official or a ritual specialist. The combination of its features is quite unusual. The kneeling attitude is rather common and typically denotes respect. However, the position of the hands is anatomically incorrect with the thumbs toward the face. The idea of the striking hand gesture may refer to mourning. The oversized hands with elongated fingers are positioned in an anatomically incorrect manner with the thumbs toward the face.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Provenance
- ?-1972: (René De Wolf, Brussels, BE, before 1972, sold to René and Odette Delenne) | 1972-2010: René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 2010: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010
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