id:			168722
accession number:	2010.429
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.429
updated:		2023-03-22 03:04:44.006000

Female Figurine, late 1800s-early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker. Wood, possibly ceramic, and copper alloy; overall: 17 x 5.8 x 4.2 cm (6 11/16 x 2 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.429

title:				Female Figurine
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			late 1800s-early 1900s
creation date earliest:		1880
creation date latest:		1920
current location:		
creditline:			René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker
technique:	Wood, possibly ceramic, and copper alloy
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 17 x 5.8 x 4.2 cm (6 11/16 x 2 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture
	opening date:   2013-10-27T00:00:00
	<i>Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* 

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PROVENANCE

	(Marcel Dumoulin, Brussels, BE, 1967, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
	date: ?-1967
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1967-2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010
	date: 2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The carvings in the figure’s abdomen reflect the custom of body scarification among the Beembe people.

digital description:
Beembe figurines generally have greatly detailed anatomical and decorative features. The scarification among Beembe men and women communicated their ideas about local beauty and ethnic belonging. These figures are charged with an ancestor’s spirit through a mixture of resin and human-derived ingredients—taken from the corpse of the person they possibly portray—into a small cavity near the rectum.

wall description:
Whether female or male, Beembe figurines generally have greatly detailed anatomical and decorative features—especially hairstyles and abdominal scarification marks—as well as a shiny, lustrous patina. The characteristic scars that were in vogue among Beembe men and women until the 1950s communicated their ideas about local beauty and ethnic belonging. Used to protect its owner’s well-being, such a Beembe figurine was charged with an ancestor’s spirit or life force through a mixture of resin and mostly human-derived ingredients taken from the corpse of the person it possibly portrays; the substance was inserted into a small cavity near the sculpture’s rectum. The staring eyes, made with shards of white porcelain, allude to the figurine’s ability to access the realm of the dead.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Petridis, Constantine, et al. <em>Fragments of the Invisible</em>: <em>The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 25, 34.
	page number: 	Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 34, 112 cat. no. 1
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.429/2010.429_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.429/2010.429_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.429/2010.429_full.tif