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Male Figure
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This sculpture played a role in ancestral worship among the Beembe people. Ancestors are held in high regard among the Beembe, and this figure is thought to represent an idealized form of a deceased individual within the ethnic group. The object is one of only two seated male Beembe figures of this size in Western institutions.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMale Figure, late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker. Wood, ceramic or Formica, copper alloy, and iron alloy; overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 16.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.428
