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

Pair of Figures (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:

These paired wooden figures are adorned with metal, bead, and shell ornaments at the ears, waists, and ankles. An ornament on the male's 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 quite 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: Pair of Figures
• 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, glass beads, plant fiber, and cloth
• Dimensions: Part 1: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.); Part 2: 41 x 13 x 11.5 cm (16 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.459

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

• Leuzinger, Elsy. Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger, exh. cat. (March 25-June 13, 1971), Villa Hügel, Essen, Belgium. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, 1971 [p. 335, cat. X27]
• Leuzinger, Elsy. Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, 331. 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, 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.