Male Figure
Unknown Artist
late 1800s-early 1900s
Medium
Wood, resin, iron, copper, plant fiber, cloth, glass beads, coins, antelope horns, and cowrie shells
Dimensions
h. 97.1 cm · without base: 91.5 × 16 × 16.3 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2010.430
About this artwork
This exceptionally large Teke figure is well preserved and holds a medicine package partly buried in an abdominal cavity. Its size suggests that it stood at the service of a larger group of people and that its powers extended beyond the limits of a village. Its scarification marks and beard identify it as representing a chief or another dignitary.