Scepter (late 1800s–early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Scepter (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:

Used by male chiefs, ivory scepters were symbols of status indicating worldly authority and supernatural influence. The use of ivory implies that the chief has the fatal power of an elephant. The figurine shows a chief enthroned on the bound body of a criminal destined for such a death. A medicine package would have been enclosed within the container extending from the figure’s head, bestowing supernatural powers.

Object facts

• Title: Scepter
• Date: late 1800s–early 1900s
• Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of Congo, probably Kongo-style (Yombe sub-group) carver
• Type: Tools and Equipment
• Technique: ivory
• Dimensions: Overall: 28 x 2.5 x 4 cm (11 x 1 x 1 9/16 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2010.447

A detail from the museum

Scepters often represent the chief sitting atop a bound prisoner or attribute to a violent death.

Collection credit

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

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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, 205. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988.
• Lehuard, Raoul. Art Bakongo. Insigne de pouvorir. Le scepter 4. Arnouville, FR: Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1998, 962-963.
• Petridis, Constantine. "René and Odette Delenne." In Tribal Art XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): 121.

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.