Figure (kiteki) (late 1800s–mid-1900s): Art, History and Details

Figure (kiteki) (late 1800s–mid-1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Biteki is the generic name for Yaka figures used as containers for magical ingredients. After being charged by a ritual specialist, they become minkisi, or power objects, and gain the power to either cure or harm. This example, with various leadership accouterments, likely belongs to the category called phuungu. Placed inside a house, the statuette would have protected against witches and other evil.

Object facts

• Title: Figure (kiteki)
• Date: late 1800s–mid-1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yaka-style carver
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, lizard skin, leopard tooth, pods, cloth, and natural fiber
• Dimensions: Overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 1974.201

A detail from the museum

The sculptures and the specially selected materials inside assist the prayers of owners for protection from harm, sickness, or loss.

Collection credit

Gift of Katherine C. White

Further reading listed by the museum

• Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 232.
• Wixon, William D., "African Art in The Cleveland Museum of Art," African Arts, Vol. X, no. 3 (April 1977), pp. 16-24, fig. 6.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. 1974 Year in Review, Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3, cat. 23.

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.