Cleveland Museum of Art

Female Figurine

Date

late 1800s-early 1900s

Medium

Wood, possibly ceramic, and copper alloy

Culture

Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Beembe figurines generally have greatly detailed anatomical and decorative features. The scarification among Beembe men and women communicated their ideas about local beauty and ethnic belonging. These figures are charged with an ancestor’s spirit through a mixture of resin and human-derived ingredients—taken from the corpse of the person they possibly portray—into a small cavity near the rectum. The carvings in the figure’s abdomen reflect the custom of body scarification among the Beembe people.

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