The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2023

Figurine

late 1800s-early 1900s

Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Kongo people

Wood, organic materials (including resin), probably kaolin, and metalized glass

Overall: 17 x 7 x 6.5 cm (6 11/16 x 2 3/4 x 2 9/16 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.438

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

This is the only figure in a group of seven found in a French antique shop adopting a threatening pose.

Description

This figure is of the nduda type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches. It is the only figure that adopts the threatening pose: the right hand raised, holding a spear or knife, and the left hand resting on the hip. Two guns protrude horizontally on both sides of the cylindrical medicine pack on the belly, covered with a round piece of mirror.

Provenance
?-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
Citations
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, 54-58. Mentioned: pp. 54, 56, 113: reproduced: pp. 58-60, cat. 16
Exhibition history

Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.438