Description
This exceptionally large Teke figure is well preserved and holds a medicine package partly buried in an abdominal cavity. Its size suggests that it stood at the service of a larger group of people and that its powers extended beyond the limits of a village. Its scarification marks and beard identify it as representing a chief or another dignitary.
Provenance
French missionary (possibly of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit), before 1914, collected from Ubangi region, Democratic Republic of Congo. (?-1914); (Unidentified art dealer, Nice, FR, 1961, sold to René and Odette Delenne) (?-1961); René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1961-2010); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010 (2010)
Accession Number
2010.430
Medium
Wood, resin, iron, copper, plant fiber, cloth, glass beads, coins, antelope horns, and cowrie shells
Dimensions
Overall: 97.1 cm (38 1/4 in.); without base: 91.5 x 16 x 16.3 cm (36 x 6 5/16 x 6 7/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund