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

Male Figure (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:

This sculpture played a role in ancestral worship among the Beembe people. Ancestors are held in high regard among the Beembe, and this figure is thought to represent an idealized form of a deceased individual within the ethnic group. The object is one of only two seated male Beembe figures of this size in Western institutions.

Object facts

• Title: Male Figure
• Date: late 1800s-early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, ceramic or Formica, copper alloy, and iron alloy
• Dimensions: Overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 16.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.428

A detail from the museum

This figure is considered “monumental” as most other types of Beembe figures measure about 15 centimeters tall.

Collection credit

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

Further reading listed by the museum

• Leuzinger, Elsy. Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, 269. Exh. Cat. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, in association with Kunsthaus Zürich, October 31, 1970-February 10, 1971.
• Leuzinger, Elsy. Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger, 273. Exh. Cat. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, in association with Villa Hügel, March 25-June 13, 1971.
• Wichmann, Siegfried, ed. World Cultures and Modern Art, 271. Exh. Cat. Munich: Verlag Bruckmann, in association with Haus der Kunst, June 16-September 30, 1972.

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.