Crucifix (late 1800s-early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Crucifix (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:

An artist made this crucifix from wood and metal centuries after Catholicism became the Kongo Kingdom’s official faith. Following King Nzinga a Nkuwu's 1491 decision to convert, Kongo Christianity uniquely reflected its surroundings. While early Christ images arrived from Portugal and Italy, this later local example has braids like a Kongo man. Worn smooth by repeated touch, the lower figure is the Virgin Mary or a worshiper knelt in mourning or respect. The x-shape incised into his waist wrapper references the dikenga dia Kongo. This likely pre-Christian symbol diagrams the life cycle's four points.

Object facts

• Title: Crucifix
• Date: late 1800s-early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Kongo Kingdom, Kongo-style maker(s)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Copper alloy, wood, upholstery studs, and iron alloy
• Dimensions: Overall: 44.7 x 22.2 x 3.2 cm (17 5/8 x 8 3/4 x 1 1/4 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.444

A detail from the museum

This x-shapes of the cross and on Christ's wrapper are forms with symbolic meaning tied to the life cycle in both Catholicism and in the indigenous Kongo religion.

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." In L'Artisan et les Arts Liturgiques [special issue on Art chrétien du Congo] 18, no. 4 (1949): 378.
• Leuzinger, Elsy. Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, 270. Exh. Cat. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, in association with Kunsthaus Zürich, October 31, 1970-February 10, 1971.
• Bastin, Marie-Louise, et al. Utotombo. L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 25 mars-5 juin 1988, 206. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988.

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.