The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 24, 2025

Male Figure

mid- to late 1800s
Wood and colorant
Overall: 68 cm (26 3/4 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 2003.36
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan

Did You Know?

The red powdery surface of this figure mimics a red body adornment that mixed ground camwood with palm oil.

Description

Hungaan figures of this size served as guardians of ritual shrines and functioned in rituals to promote fertility, guarantee well-being, and ensure longevity. The striking crested hairstyle imitates a real coiffure or a wig, indicative of status and prestige. The hands supporting the chin identify the figure as a chief who is immersed in thought and contemplation, pondering over his responsibilities.
  • by 1925
    colonial official in the Belgian Congo
    Pierre Loos, Brussels, Belgium
    early 1980s–2003
    (Mr. and Mrs. Willem Vranken, Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2003–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Utotombo: l'art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges, exh. cat., Palais des Beaux-Arts. Brussels: Société des Expositions, 1988, cat. 171.
    Cornet, Joseph-Aurélien. Zaïre: peuples/art/culture. Antwerp: Fonds Mercator, 1989, 384.
    Petridis, Constantine. "A New Installation for African Art in Cleveland." Tribal v.9 no. 3, i. 36 (Autumn/Winter 2004): 68-73
    Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 38, p. 106 - 107
  • {{cite web|title=Male Figure|url=false|author=|year=mid- to late 1800s|access-date=24 June 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.36