Male Figure of a Pair (late 1800s–early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Male Figure of a Pair (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 a pair, this male figure is adorned with metal, bead, and shell ornaments at the ears, waist, and ankles. An ornament on his upper arm may identify him as a warrior. Each figure has a series of vertically aligned bumps on the forehead. These represent highly raised keloid scars that were culturally meaningful forms of body modification. Carving of paired figures is well documented among the Ngbandi and their neighbors, the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. Field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi.

Object facts

• Title: Male Figure of a Pair
• Date: late 1800s–early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, probably Ngbandi-style carver
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, and cloth
• Dimensions: Overall: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.459.1

A detail from the museum

Few examples of Ngbandi sculpture exist, and even fewer retain their adornments.

Collection credit

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

Further reading listed by the museum

• Kunsthaus Zürich, and Elsy Leuzinger. 1970. Die Kunst Von Schwarz-Afrika : [Ausstellung: Kunsthaus Zürich] 31. Oktober 1970-17. Januar 1971. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, p. 331, cat. X27.
• "Recent Acquisitions (2005-11) at the Cleveland Museum of Art." The Burlington Magazine 1312:154 (July 2012): 525-32. Fig. I, p. 525.
• 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, 248, 309. 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.