The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 4, 2023

Male Figure (nkishi)

late 1800s-early 1900s

Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Songye-style carver and nganga

(priest)

Wood, glass beads, brass (including upholstery studs), copper alloy, iron alloy, raffia, reedbuck antelope horn, rawhide, animal hair, human teeth, organic material, minerals, and plant fibers

Overall: 64 x 24.5 x 24 cm (25 3/16 x 9 5/8 x 9 7/16 in.)

René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.451

Location

108A Sub-Saharan

Fun Fact

Researchers conducted x-ray scanning on this figure, revealing its internal structure and human teeth, an antelope horn, and animal hair.

Description

This Male Figure is an accumulation of wood, copper sheet, rows of flat iron pins, antelope horn, braided fiber ropes, black and white beads, and raffia. It is attributed to the Songye peoples of southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and was created in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. Referred to as a power figure, this object would have been central to communal life, acting as an intercessor between spiritual and temporal worlds. It was first sold in an auction by Galerie Modernes in Brussels to the private collectors René and Odette Delenne in 1958. In 2010 the Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the sculpture.

Provenance
1958
(Galerie Moderne, Brussels, Belgium, sold to René and Odette Delenne)
1958-2010
René [1901-1998] and Odette [1925-2012] Delenne, Brussels, Belgium
2010
René and Odette Delenne, Brussels, Belgium, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2010-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Petridis, Constantine. "René and Odette Delenne." In Tribal Art XV-4, no. 61 (Autumn 2011): 123. Reproduced: fig. 9
Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 12 archive.org
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, cover, 26, 66, 68-75, 104. Reproduced: cover, pp.69-71, 74-75; mentioned: pp. 23, 27, 66-73, 108, 114, cat. 24, figs. 36-41
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 35
"In Case You Missed It: Fragments of the Invisible." The International Review of African American Art 25, no. 1 (2014): p. 10-11. Reproduced: p. 11.
Neyt, Francois. Songye: The Formidable Statuary of Central Africa. Munich/Berlin/London/New York: Prestel Verlag, 2009, 172-173, 290. Reproduced: pp. 172-173, no. 133, p. 290, detail; mentioned: pp. 326, 388
Nzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Second Careers : Two Tributaries in African Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019 Reproduced: Cover, left (detail); p. 4; p. 59, fig. 5; mentioned: p. 22, 26, 29. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
Nzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth, "Second Careers: Repurposed objects reflect the conceptual strategies connecting historical and contemporary African art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 4 (Fall 2020): 8-9. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 8.
Exhibition history

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).

Second Careers: Two Tributaries in African Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1, 2020-March 14, 2021).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.451