Corpus (Crucified Christ) (late 1800s-early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Corpus (Crucified Christ) (late 1800s-early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

One of two Christian-inspired objects in the Delenne collection identifying the far-reaching networks of trade, diplomacy, religion, and cross-cultural exchange. Kongo Christian symbols were created as spiritual tools to help explain and alleviate the turbulent situation between Central African religion and Catholicism. This figurine is geometric in style, combining both Christian ideals and preexisting Kongo artistic practices. Its pierced hands and feet link him to crucifixion images.

Object facts

• Title: Corpus (Crucified Christ)
• Date: late 1800s-early 1900s
• Culture: Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Cabinda, Kongo people
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Copper alloy
• Dimensions: Overall: 16.5 x 12.5 x 2.5 cm (6 1/2 x 4 15/16 x 1 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.445

A detail from the museum

This figure combines Kongo artists’ attention to symmetry with the Western depiction of Christ, lifeless on the cross.

Collection credit

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• de Borchgrave d'Alténa, J. "Christs de l'ancien Congo." L'Artisan et les Arts Liturgiques [special issue on Art chrétien du Congo] 18, vol 4 (1949): 376.
• Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 40-41, 54-58, 108.

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.