id: 168758 accession number: 2010.459.1 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.459.1 updated: 2020-04-09 09:01:16.648000 Male Figure of a Pair, late 1800s-early 1900s. Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, probably Ngbandi people. Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, and cloth; overall: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.459.1 title: Male Figure of a Pair 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: 108A Sub-Saharan creditline: René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund copyright: --- culture: Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, probably Ngbandi people technique: Wood, iron alloy, copper alloy, and cloth department: African Art collection: African Art type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 45 x 15.5 x 9.2 cm (17 11/16 x 6 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger opening date: 1971-03-25T05:00:00 Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger. Villa Hügel (March 25-June 13, 1971). title: Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture opening date: 2013-10-27T00:00:00 Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (October 31, 1970 - February 10, 1971) * Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, BE (March 25-June 5, 1988) * Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (July 7-September 30, 1990) * Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (November-January 1991) * Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, FR, June 2000 --- PROVENANCE Jef and René Vanderstraete, Lasne, BE, 1959, sold to René and Odette Delenne date: ?-1959 footnotes: citations: René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 1959-2010 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010 date: 2010 footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Odette Delenne, the collector of this pair, once stated that these figures reminded her of herself and her husband, René. digital description: Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbandi and its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. Field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. wall description: Although this pair has been attributed to the Ngbandi, many of the style characteristics identified as typical of that culture are in fact shared with its neighbors the Ngbaka-Minagende, among others. Carving of paired figures is quite well documented among the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. But field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi. Were all such Ngbandi-style couples created by Ngbandi artists for a neighboring Ngbaka-Minagende community or another Ubangi group? Or do they instead refer to a more localized tradition that was never documented by foreign observers? --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Bastin, Marie-Louise, et al. Utotombo. L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 25 mars-5 juin 1988, 248, 309. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988. page number: Reproduced: p. 248 url: Grootaers, Jan-Lodewijk, ed. Ubangi. Art et cultures au Coeur de l'Afrique, 154-155. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Fonds Mercator, in association with Afrika Museum, October 13, 2007-March 31, 2008. page number: Reproduced: 154-155 url: Petridis, Constantine. "René and Odette Delenne." In Tribal Art XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): pp. 118-124. page number: Reproduced: p. 120 url: Franklin, David. "Recent acquisitions (2005-11) at the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Burlington Magazine 154, no. 1312 (July 2012): pp. 525-532. page number: p. 525 url: Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents, 2013, 26, 89, 94-95. page number: Mentioned: pp. 12, 26, 89-91 url: Bangerter, Walter, and Elsy Leuzinger. Afrikanische Kunstwerke: Kulturen am Niger, 335. Exh. Cat. Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, in association with Villa Hügel, March 25-June 13, 1971. page number: Reproduced: p. 335 url: Heymer, Kay, and Siegfried Gohr. Afrikanische Skulptur: Die Erfindung der Figur, 200. Exh. Cat. Cologne: Museum Ludwig, July 7-September 30, 1990. page number: Reproduced: p. 200 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.459.1/2010.459.1_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.459.1/2010.459.1_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.459.1/2010.459.1_full.tif