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Catalog Data

Maker:
Kongo artist  Search this
Medium:
Ivory, ceramic, camwood, resin
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 16.5 x 5.1 x 6 cm (6 1/2 x 2 x 2 3/8 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Angola
Congo
Date:
16th-19th century
Label Text:
Among the Kongo peoples, carved wooden staffs with figurative tops and pointed iron ends were emblems of a ruler's power and wealth. A staff might be presented to a future chief at his initiation, and some were inherited. On staffs such as these, the tops were separately carved ivory figures; the red color is the result of added pigment and age. The value of ivory as a material is universally appreciated. Ivory refers to the blatant physical power of the elephant as a creature who cannot be controlled, who can kill a man.
The features of this standing figure are smoothed with age and use, but the mouth with the prominent chipped front teeth suggests a Kongo man, as does the beardless chin. The blue eyes and clothes, however, are European. The high-collared jacket, brimmed hat and earrings were part of the costume of a European male during the time of early contact. While the exact style of trouser is undetermined, it is clearly not a Kongo wrapped garment. The Portuguese first entered the Kongo kingdom in 1482; by 1500 the Kongo king had been converted; and by 1550 churches and a cathedral had been built in the Kongo capital city of San Salvador, renamed from Mbanza Kongo. In addition to ordinary commercial trading, high-level diplomatic exchanges were made between the Kongo and the Portuguese courts. European-style clothing and hats were gifts and trade items, and their artistic representations continued long after the time of actual use had passed.
Description:
Ivory male figure with inlaid blue ceramic eyes in European style clothing: a high collar jacket and flat crowned brimmed hat, with deep reddish brown patina.
Provenance:
Hector Deleval, 1913
Deleval family collection, Spa, Belgium, before 1940 to 1982
Madame Marchand, Brussels, 1982
Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, 1982 to 1985
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed May 9, 2014 to August 12, 2019)
Treasures 2008, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 9-August 24, 2008
BIG/small, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 17-July 23, 2006
Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture, Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, September 25, 1992-June 1, 1993
Published References:
Deleval, Hector. 1913. Les tribus Kavati du Mayombe: Notes ethnographiques, pl. IX, no. 4,4.
Felix, Marc Leo (ed). 2010. White Gold, Black Hands: Ivory Sculpture in Congo, Vol 1. Qiquhar, Heilungkiang, The People's Republic of China: Gemini Sun, p. 138, no. 166.
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 116-117, no. 79B.
Patton, Sharon F. and Bryna Freyer. 2008. Treasures 2008. Washington D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 116-117.
Ross, Doran (ed). 1992. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 28, no. 1-43.
Content Statement:
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Topic:
Leadership  Search this
foreigner  Search this
Male use  Search this
male  Search this
Credit Line:
Museum purchase
Object number:
85-15-4
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys78a8f62bf-6ac7-4ac9-bbd5-c865452bf7db
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_85-15-4