The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Male Figure

late 1800s-early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo or Democratic Republic of the Congo, Teke-style maker

(most likely)
Wood, resin, iron, copper, plant fiber, cloth, glass beads, coins, antelope horns, and cowrie shells
Overall: 97.1 cm (38 1/4 in.); without base: 91.5 x 16 x 16.3 cm (36 x 6 5/16 x 6 7/16 in.)
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.430
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The coins on the figure’s hat were those used in the Belgian Congo.

Description

This exceptionally large Teke figure is well preserved and holds a medicine package partly buried in an abdominal cavity. Its size suggests that it stood at the service of a larger group of people and that its powers extended beyond the limits of a village. Its scarification marks and beard identify it as representing a chief or another dignitary.
  • ?-1914
    French missionary (possibly of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit), before 1914, collected from Ubangi region, Democratic Republic of Congo.
    ?-1961
    (Unidentified art dealer, Nice, FR, 1961, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
    1961-2010
    René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2010
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010
  • Lehuard, Raoul. Les Arts Bateke. Arnouville, FR: Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1996, fig. 85.1.1. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 340, fig. 85.1.1
    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, 34. Reproduced: p. 37; mentioned: p. 112, cat. 4
  • Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=Male Figure|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s-early 1900s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.430