Collection Online as of October 3, 2023

Scepter

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of Congo, probably Kongo-style (Yombe sub-group) carver

Ivory

Overall: 28 x 2.5 x 4 cm (11 x 1 x 1 9/16 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.447

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Scepters often represent the chief sitting atop a bound prisoner or attribute to a violent death.

Description

Used by male chiefs, ivory scepters were symbols of status indicating worldly authority and supernatural influence. The use of ivory implies that the chief has the fatal power of an elephant. The figurine shows a chief enthroned on the bound body of a criminal destined for such a death. A medicine package would have been enclosed within the container extending from the figure’s head, bestowing supernatural powers.

Provenance

?-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

Citations

Bastin, Marie-Louise, et al. Utotombo. L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 25 mars-5 juin 1988, 205. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 205, cat. 163

Lehuard, Raoul. Art Bakongo. Insigne de pouvorir. Le scepter 4. Arnouville, FR: Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1998, 962-963. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 962-963, no. M3

Petridis, Constantine. "René and Odette Delenne." In Tribal Art XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): 121. Reproduced: p. 121, fig. 6

Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 12 archive.org

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, 24, 41,45, 112. Mentioned: pp. 24, 112-113; reproduced: p. 45, cat. 9

Exhibition history

Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, BE (March 25-June 5, 1988)

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).

African Master Carvers: Known and Famous. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 16, 2017).