The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Vessel in the Form of a Woman's Head
by 1928
Diameter: 30 x 14.6 x 22.1 cm (11 13/16 x 5 3/4 x 8 11/16 in.); Overall: 31.2 cm (12 5/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Vessels in human form were created between 1908-1939 for Mangbetu rulers seeking prestige items for themselves and gifts for selected European visitors. This vessel portrays an idealized image of a beautiful Mangbetu woman with her distinctive elongated head shape and elegant fan-like coiffure that were the fashions of the era. The balance and elegance of the vessel's shape and surface designs mark it as a masterpiece of its type.- 1928Acquired by Paul Travis on behalf of the African Art Sponsors and the Gilpin Players in Ekibondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then-Belgian Congo)1928The African Art Sponsors and the Gilpin Players1929–The Cleveland Museum of Art by giftProvenance Footnotes1 Boger, Ann C. et al. Paul B. Travis Africa 1927-1928. Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. PP. 32–35, 47.2 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.
- Wixom, WIlliam D. "African Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art." African Arts. 10, no. 3. (April 1977) 16-25. Mentioned: p. 16; reproduced, p. 18, fig. 4 www.jstor.orgPetridis, Constantijn, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Museum of art ; Milan : 5 Continents Editions, 2013. Mentioned: p. 107
- {{cite web|title=Vessel in the Form of a Woman's Head|url=false|author=|year=by 1928|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1929.321