The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Female Figurine or Finial

late 1800s-early 1900s

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo , Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, Kongo people

(most likely)
Ivory and iron
Overall: 11 x 4 x 4 cm (4 5/16 x 1 9/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.446
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The oversized hands with elongated fingers are positioned in an anatomically incorrect manner with the thumbs toward the face.

Description

This ivory figurine most likely served as the finial of a wooden staff or scepter, and owned and used by a high-ranking official or a ritual specialist. The combination of its features is quite unusual. The kneeling attitude is rather common and typically denotes respect. However, the position of the hands is anatomically incorrect with the thumbs toward the face. The idea of the striking hand gesture may refer to mourning.
  • ?-1972
    (René De Wolf, Brussels, BE, before 1972, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
    1972-2010
    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
  • 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. Menitoned: pp. 25, 113; reproduced: p. 61, cat. 21
  • 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=Female Figurine or Finial|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/2010.446