The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 23, 2024
Mother and Child Figure
c. 1930
Overall: 33 cm (13 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1969.7
Location: not on view
Description
In Kongo art, the image of a mother embodies the concept of mooyo—life, spirit, vitality, and soul. The figure's facial expression, gesture, and posture convey these ideas dramatically. The mother's detached stare evokes the spiritual realm of gods and ancestors while the raised marks on her shoulders signify citizenship and social commitment. She raises her breast in a nurturing gesture. Her cross-legged position symbolically connotes both the circle of life and the lap as the seat of stability and security for the living, her child. During the lifetime of its owner, the sculpture was displayed at community meetings when the person was absent. After the person's death, the figure would be displayed on the grave—demonstrating the continuity between the living and the departed in African beliefs.- Katherine White Reswick
- Fagg, William. African Tribal Images: the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 223Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1969." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 1 (1970): 2-50. Reproduced: p.43 25152307
- Such Sweet Thunder: African Elements in the Art of Romare Bearden. Kent State University Art Galleries, OH (April 9-May 9, 1997).Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 10-September 1, 1968); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Museum of American Art, Philadelphia, PA (October 10-December 1, 1968).
- {{cite web|title=Mother and Child Figure|url=false|author=|year=c. 1930|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.7