Description
The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure with its female pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair is said to represent the culture's primordial couple.
Provenance
French missionary, before 1914, collected from Ubangi region (?-1914); (Unidentified art dealer, Nice, FR, 1961, sold to Paul Elsas) (?-1961); Paul Elsas [1896-1981], Saint-Paul de Vence, FR, 1962, sold to René and Odette Delenne (1961-1962); René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1962-2010); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010 (2010)
Accession Number
2010.460.1
Medium
Wood and iron
Dimensions
Overall: 145 x 31.8 x 23.2 cm (57 1/16 x 12 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund