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Oliphant (Side-Blown Trumpet)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Side-blown trumpets were used on various occasions, and ivory examples seem to have been reserved for more solemn circumstances, such as funerals. As the mouthpiece is located on the inner curve, the person who played this instrument held it horizontally. A seated male Yombe ruler wearing a shell necklace and a European-style cloak and hat is carved on top. His blended dress shows how Yombe people (a Kongo sub-group) selectively adopted elements of foreign dress to wear with their own fashions.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineOliphant (Side-Blown Trumpet), late 1800s–early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Yombe-style maker. Ivory; overall: 32 x 4 x 6 cm (12 5/8 x 1 9/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.448
