Description
This figurine or finial may have contained a medicine-filled package on its abdomen. The man seated with his legs crossed and wearing a coiffure of Portuguese inspiration may represent a chief, which was once attached to a scepter or perhaps a flywhisk. Beneath the chief, a child holds onto his back; though such imagery is more typically seen with female sculptures.
Provenance
(René De Wolf, Brussels, BE, before 1972, sold to René and Odette Delenne) (?-1972); René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. (1972-2010); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH 2010 (2010)
Accession Number
2010.436
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Overall: 9.7 x 3.8 x 3.3 cm (3 13/16 x 1 1/2 x 1 5/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund