Collection Online as of May 19, 2022

Oliphant (Side-Blown Trumpet)

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (most likely), Cabinda, or Republic of the Congo, probably Yombe-style maker

Ivory

Overall: 32 x 4 x 6 cm (12 5/8 x 1 9/16 x 2 3/8 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.448

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Kongo Kingdom rulers sent ornately carved large side-blown trumpets to Europe as diplomatic gifts during the sixteenth century.

Description

Side-blown trumpets were used on various occasions, and ivory examples seem to have been reserved for more solemn circumstances, such as funerals. As the mouthpiece is located on the inner curve, the person who played this instrument held it horizontally. A seated male Yombe ruler wearing a shell necklace and a European-style cloak and hat is carved on top. His blended dress shows how Yombe people (a Kongo sub-group) selectively adopted elements of foreign dress to wear with their own fashions.

Provenance

?-1972

(René De Wolf, Brussels, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne)

1972-2010

René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2010–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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, 40-41, 45, 112. Reproduced: p, 40-41, 45; mentioned: p. 112, cat. 7

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).