Ritual Head
Hemba
Mid–/late 19th century
Medium
Wood, animal fur (contemporary facsimile based on period examples), and twine
Dimensions
33 × 17.8 × 14 cm (13 × 7 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
152859
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This male ritual head bears the crossed coiffure and regal, elongated face with arched brows and almond-shaped eyes that are characteristic of Hemba sculpture. The fur attached to the base of this sculpture is not original. This sculpture was possibly once kept in a basket or gourd and would have been used by the head of the clan to foster communication between the living and the ancestral realm.