Art Institute of Chicago
Ritual Head
Hemba
- Date
- Mid–/late 19th century
- Medium
- Wood, animal fur (contemporary facsimile based on period examples), and twine
- Culture
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Department
- Arts of Africa
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
This male ritual head bears the crossed coiffure and regal, elongated face with arched brows and almond-shaped eyes that are characteristic of Hemba sculpture. The fur attached to the base of this sculpture is not original. This sculpture was possibly once kept in a basket or gourd and would have been used by the head of the clan to foster communication between the living and the ancestral realm.
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Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300301253
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