Artwork Page for Carving

Details / Information for Carving

Carving

c. 1900

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kongo, early 20th century

Medium
ivory
Measurements
Overall: 17.8 cm (7 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Charles E. Roseman 1969.138
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The spiral composition of this artwork has been used on carved ivories in the Kingdom of Kongo since the 1500s.

Description

Carved elephant ivory tusks and hippopotamus tooth ivory—whether large, or small, like this example—were sought-after souvenirs for Europeans who visited, lived, or worked on the coast of Central Africa. Vili carvers had been sculpting ivory for centuries. In the age of European commerce and colonialism, they created carefully observed tusks with representations of everyday life for European clients. While commissions, they also reflected what the artists chose to represent about their own societies, and sometimes about Europeans. In this small tusk, we see Congolese individuals wearing various clothing, from local-style waist wrappers to European brimmed hats.
A carved ivory tusk features human figures spiraling from a thick base toward a pointed tip. The figures are carved in high relief with large, wide-set eyes and dotted hair. A thin, raised band winds around the warm cream-colored surface, separating the figures into spiraling tiers. The object curves from the bottom right to the top left, with fine vertical cracks visible as the material tapers smoothly toward the narrow end.

Carving

c. 1900

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kongo, early 20th century

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