Woman and Child

Cleveland Museum of Art

Woman and Child

Date
mid- to late 1800s
Medium
Wood
Culture
Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yombe-style carver
Department
African Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art

This mother-and-child figure was probably part of a cult concerned with the treatment of infertility. Both her jewelry and her seated pose indicate that the woman occupied a high rank in her community. Her miter-shaped hairstyle, chiseled teeth, and raised body scars--considered to be marks of beauty and perfection--signal that the woman incarnates the founding ancestor of a kinship group.

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