Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, probably Ngbandi-style carver / late 1800s–early 1900s
Female Figure of a Pair
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Female Figure of a Pair as sculpture (Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, probably Ngbandi-style carver · late 1800s–early 1900s).
Few examples of Ngbandi sculpture exist, and even fewer retain their adornments.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as Wood, iron alloy, glass beads, plant fiber, and cloth.
The museum's collection notes: One of a pair, this female figure is adorned with metal, bead, and shell ornaments at the ears, waist, and ankles. Each figure has a series of vertically aligned bumps on the forehead. These represent highly raised keloid scars that were culturally meaningful forms of body modification. Carving of paired figures is well documented among the Ngbandi and their neighbors, the Ngbaka-Minagende, where such sculptures are said to represent the mythical ancestor Seto and his sister-wife, Nabo. Field-based research cannot confirm the existence of figurative couples among the Ngbandi.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFemale Figure of a PairOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.