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Woman and Child
mid- to late 1800s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This mother-and-child figure was probably part of a cult concerned with the treatment of infertility. Both her jewelry and her seated pose indicate that the woman occupied a high rank in her community. Her miter-shaped hairstyle, chiseled teeth, and raised body scars--considered to be marks of beauty and perfection--signal that the woman incarnates the founding ancestor of a kinship group.
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Details
- Title: Woman and Child
- Date Created: mid- to late 1800s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 26.2 x 9.2 x 7.4 cm (10 5/16 x 3 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.)
- Provenance: Captain Isidore W. Mesmaekers, Belgian Congo, his family, by descent (Belgium?), (J. P. Lepage Gallery, Brussels, Belgium), (Mr. and Mrs. Willem Vranken-Hoet, Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.35
- Medium: Wood
- Department: African Art
- Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yombe carver
- Credit Line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Collection: African Art
- Accession Number: 2003.35
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