The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Pair of Figures

Pair of Figures

late 1800s–early 1900s
(most likely)
Wood and iron
Part 1: 145 x 31.8 x 23.2 cm (57 1/16 x 12 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.); Part 2: 145 x 26.8 x 23.3 cm (57 1/16 x 10 9/16 x 9 3/16 in.)
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.460
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This male and female pair is said to represent the culture's primordial couple.

Description

The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure with its female pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair is said to represent the culture's primordial couple.
  • ?-1914
    French missionary, before 1914, collected from Ubangi region.
    ?-1961
    (Unidentified art dealer, Nice, France, 1961, sold to Paul Elsas)
    1961-1962
    Paul Elsas [1896-1981], Saint-Paul de Vence, FR, 1962, sold to René and Odette Delenne
    1962-2010
    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
  • Grootaers, Jan-Lodewijk, ed. Ubangi. Art et cultures au Coeur de l'Afrique, fig. I.4. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Fonds Mercator, in association with Afrika Museum, October 13, 2007-March 31, 2008. Reproduced: p. 18; mentioned: p. 20, fig. 1.4
    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, 27, 88, 92-93. Mentioned: pp. 27, 88-89, 114; reproduced: pp. 92-93, cat. 31
  • 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=Pair of Figures|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–early 1900s|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.460