{
"data": {
"id": 110829,
"accession_number": "1929.353",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Back Skirt/Sitting Pad (negbe), by 1928. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mangbetu-style makers. Plant fibers and dye; overall: 19.7 x 27.3 x 6.3 cm (7 3/4 x 10 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House, 1929.353",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Back Skirt/Sitting Pad (negbe)",
"creation_date": "by 1928",
"creation_date_earliest": 1900,
"creation_date_latest": 1928,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mangbetu-style makers"
],
"technique": "Plant fibers and dye",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "African Art",
"collection": "African Art",
"type": "Garment",
"measurements": "Overall: 19.7 x 27.3 x 6.3 cm (7 3/4 x 10 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.197,
"height_inch": 7,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.75,
"width": 0.273,
"width_inch": 10,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.75,
"depth": 0.063,
"depth_inch": 2,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.5
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
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"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 383281,
"title": "Stories from Storage",
"description": "Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).",
"opening_date": "2021-02-06T05:00:00"
}
],
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},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Purchased by Paul Travis on behalf of the African Art Sponsors and the Gilpin Players in Ekibondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then-Belgian Congo)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [
"Boger, Ann C. et al. Paul B. Travis Africa 1927-1928. Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. PP. 32, 46
",
"It appears on a checklist of \"African Material\" circa 1928 as part of a group of \"7 woven mats of grass and banana leaf. These are hooked in the belt to serve as ornaments when standing and as seats when sitting. Mangbettu, Ekibondis Village.\" Archives of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
"
],
"date": "1928",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The African Art Sponsors and the Gilpin Players",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [
"12/3/1928 letter to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History from Hazel Mountain Walker (Gilpin Players, president) and Harry E. Davis (African Art Sponsors, president) reproduced on p. 54 of Adams, Henry et al. Paul Travis 1891-1975. Cleveland Artists Foundation, 2001.
"
],
"date": "1928",
"sortorder": 2
},
{
"description": "African Art Sponsors of Karamu House, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1929",
"sortorder": 3
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1929-",
"sortorder": 4
}
],
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"did_you_know": "A curved \"handle\" on the negbe's interior allowed it to rest on the tailbone.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "Egbe (singular: negbe) were fashionable and practical garments aristocratic Mangbetu women made for special occasions. Worn over a skirt, it tied onto a girdle along with a frontal \u201capron.\u201d The curved interior piece rested on the lower back. Thickly woven, flexible natural fibers bent with the body, cushioning the wearer\u2019s behind when sitting. When the woman was standing, the decorated flat portion faced outward, showing off bold geometric motifs. Egbe were among items sold to foreigners at the Mangbetu king\u2019s encouragement as the Mangbetu actively constructed their self image for outsiders during the 1920s and 1930s.",
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"citations": [
{
"citation": "Boger, Ann C. et al. Paul B. Travis Africa 1927-1928. Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. p. 30.",
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"url": null
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"updated_at": "2026-05-29 05:52:47.510000"
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