Description
This female figurine may be a fragment of a spoon or spatula, but is not confirmed. Iconography of the human image is common in the art of Kongo-speaking peoples, however, this object’s function or purpose is unknown. The position of the arms has been interpreted as that of a bound prisoner while the positioning of the head represents a broken neck or severed head, thus identifying as a sacrificial victim.
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
2010.449
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
Overall: 12 x 2.5 x 4.5 cm (4 3/4 x 1 x 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund