The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Pendant

Pendant

late 1800s–early 1900s
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The caramel-colored patina of the ivory indicates the frequent usage of the pendant.

Description

Luba pendants made in ivory or bone were originally suspended on a cord and worn diagonally across the chest of a high-ranking member of society. Often accompanied by amulets, beads, or small antelope horns, they represented ancestral spirits and served as portals to ancestral wisdom and beneficence. Many of these diminutive figurines hold their hands to their breasts as a sign of the secrets and wisdom they contain.
  • ?-1965
    (Marcel Dumoulin, Brussels, BE, 1965, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
    1965-2010
    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, 84. Mentioned: pp. 81, 114; reproduced: p. 84, cat. 28
  • 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).
  • {{cite web|title=Pendant|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–early 1900s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.456