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Male Figure
late 1800s-early 1900s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This sculpture played a role in ancestral worship among the Beembe people. Ancestors are held in high regard among the Beembe, and this figure is thought to represent an idealized form of a deceased individual within the ethnic group. The object is one of only two seated male Beembe figures of this size in Western institutions.
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Details
- Title: Male Figure
- Date Created: late 1800s-early 1900s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 16.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.)
- Provenance: (Merton Simpson [1928-2013], New York, NY, 1966, sold to René and Odette Delenne), René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.428
- Medium: Wood, ceramic or Formica, copper alloy, and iron alloy
- Fun Fact: This figure is considered “monumental” as most other types of Beembe figures measure about 15 centimeters tall.
- Department: African Art
- Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Republic of the Congo, Beembe-style maker
- Credit Line: René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Collection: African Art
- Accession Number: 2010.428
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