The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Figure (kiteki)

late 1800s–mid-1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yaka-style carver

Wood, lizard skin, leopard tooth, pods, cloth, and natural fiber
Overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1974.201
Location: 108A African

Did You Know?

The sculptures and the specially selected materials inside assist the prayers of owners for protection from harm, sickness, or loss.

Description

Biteki is the generic name for Yaka figures used as containers for magical ingredients. After being charged by a ritual specialist, they become minkisi, or power objects, and gain the power to either cure or harm. This example, with various leadership accouterments, likely belongs to the category called phuungu. Placed inside a house, the statuette would have protected against witches and other evil.
  • 1965–1974
    Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1974–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    by at least 1965
    Harry Franklin, Los Angeles, CA
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Memorandum from William D. Wixom to Ursula Korneitchouk and Del Gutridge. 12/13/74. CMA Archives
  • Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 232.
    Wixon, William D., "African Art in The Cleveland Museum of Art," African Arts, Vol. X, no. 3 (April 1977), pp. 16-24, fig. 6.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. 1974 Year in Review, Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3, cat. 23.
    Drewal, Henry John. African Art: A Brief Guide to the Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1989, fig. 9.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, "CMA Handbook", 1991b, p. 141.
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Reproduced: p. 96; Mentioned: p. 97, no. 23 www.jstor.org
    Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 40, p. 110 - 111
  • CMA 1975: "Year in Review 1974," CMA Bulletin LXII (March, 1975), p. 97, no. 23, repr. p. 96.
    CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 232, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Figure (kiteki)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–mid-1900s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.201