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Female Figurine
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineFemale Figurine, 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: 12 x 2.5 x 4.5 cm (4 3/4 x 1 x 1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2010.449
