The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 25, 2020

Female Figure

late 1800s-early 1900s

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Songye people

Wood, upholstery studs, antelope horns, and animal hair

Overall: 34.8 x 6.2 x 14.5 cm (13 11/16 x 2 7/16 x 5 11/16 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.452

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Because this Mankishi is neither small or quite large in size, it was most likely used by a family rather than an individual.

Description

Mankishi figures were believed to have magical powers and were used by diviners to contact spirits in otherworldly realms. Smaller, personal power figures were used to connect with “common” ancestors, while the larger Mankishi figures contacted higher-ranking ancestral spirits. These power figures were kept in their own personal spaces because of their powerful status, and could only be handled by their designated nkunja, or guardian.

Provenance
?-1960
(Jean Dierickx, Brussels, BE, 1960, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
1960-2010
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. "René and Odette Delenne." In Tribal Art XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): 123. p. 123
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, 23, 68-75. Mentioned: pp. 23, 114: reproduced:pp. 76-77, cat. 25
Neyt, Francois. Songye: The Formidable Statuary of Central Africa. Munich/Berlin/London/New York: Prestel Verlag, 2009, 262. Reproduced: p. 262, no. 230; mentioned: 392, no. 230
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://cmaweb23-bbn-2.clevelandart.org/art/2010.452