Carved Tooth (late 1800s): Art, History and Details

Carved Tooth (late 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This is a fine example of art produced for sale to European visitors in the Lower Congo River area. A long history of cultural and artistic interactions between Africans and Europeans began in 1482, when the Portuguese first established diplomatic ties with the rulers of the Kongo kingdoms. Note the image of a foreign merchant pouring whiskey from a keg.

Object facts

• Title: Carved Tooth
• Date: late 1800s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Vili-style maker
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Hippopotamus ivory and organic material
• Dimensions: Overall: 33 cm (13 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1969.137

A detail from the museum

Spiral motifs have been found on Kongo Kingdom ivory carvings since at least the 1500s.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Charles E. Roseman

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.