The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Divination Implement

late 1800s–early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Luba-style maker

Wood, glass beads, and natural fiber
Overall: 11.4 x 3.4 x 4.8 cm (4 1/2 x 1 5/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2010.455
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This divination implement is a kakishi (embodiment of an ancestor) device that connects the diviner and the client to the spirit they wish to contact.

Description

This device helped contact an ancestral spirit who clarified misfortunes. The diviner awakened the ancestor by anointing the rectangular frame of the figurine with pungent basil leaves. Sitting on a textured woven mat, the diviner held one side of the instrument while the client held the other. The diviner then posed questions to the ancestor who responded through certain movement signaling affirmation.
  • ?-1959
    (Jean Dierickx, Brussels, BE, 1959, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
    1959-2010
    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, 80, 84. Mentioned: pp. 25.80, 114; reproduced: 84, cat. 27
  • 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=Divination Implement|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–early 1900s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.455