Cleveland Museum of Art

Male Figure of a Pair

Date

late 1800s-early 1900s

Medium

Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, and cloth

Culture

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, probably Ngbandi-style carver

Department

African Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbandi and its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. Field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Odette Delenne, the collector of this pair, once stated that these figures reminded her of herself and her husband, René.

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