Oliphant (Side-Blown Trumpet)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s–early 1900s
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
32 × 4 × 6 cm
Classification
Musical Instrument
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2010.448
About this artwork
Side-blown trumpets were used on various occasions, and ivory examples seem to have been reserved for more solemn circumstances, such as funerals. As the mouthpiece is located on the inner curve, the person who played this instrument held it horizontally. A seated male Yombe ruler wearing a shell necklace and a European-style cloak and hat is carved on top. His blended dress shows how Yombe people (a Kongo sub-group) selectively adopted elements of foreign dress to wear with their own fashions.