Cleveland Museum of Art
Male Figurine or Finial
- Date
- early 1800s-early 1900s
- Medium
- Wood
- Culture
- Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Yombe people
- Department
- African Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 168730
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
This figurine or finial may have contained a medicine-filled package on its abdomen. The man seated with his legs crossed and wearing a coiffure of Portuguese inspiration may represent a chief, which was once attached to a scepter or perhaps a flywhisk. Beneath the chief, a child holds onto his back; though such imagery is more typically seen with female sculptures. The stomach cavity was once filled with medicinal substances; once removed, the nkisi figure is considered “decommissioned.”
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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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