The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of March 28, 2024
Female Figurine
late 1800s-early 1900s
Overall: 17 x 5.8 x 4.2 cm (6 11/16 x 2 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The carvings in the figure’s abdomen reflect the custom of body scarification among the Beembe people.Description
Beembe figurines generally have greatly detailed anatomical and decorative features. The scarification among Beembe men and women communicated their ideas about local beauty and ethnic belonging. These figures are charged with an ancestor’s spirit through a mixture of resin and human-derived ingredients—taken from the corpse of the person they possibly portray—into a small cavity near the rectum.- ?-1967(Marcel Dumoulin, Brussels, BE, 1967, sold to René and Odette Delenne)1967-2010René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art2010The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010
- Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 25, 34. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 34, 112 cat. no. 1
- Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).
- {{cite web|title=Female Figurine|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s-early 1900s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.429