Figure: Female

19th - early 20th century (before 1913)

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Early photographs of this work show that, while it has since lost its original earring loops, its most important and distinctive traits have survived: the amalgam of powerful matter packed at the top of its head, enhanced by an animal claw inserted at back; and the delicate motifs drawn with white pigment on the surface of the face. It was displayed in 1913 in the exhibition of Charles Vignier’s collection at the Galerie Levesque in Paris, famous for being the first exhibition in France to have featured African objects in an artistic setting. Like the adjacent figure in this case, it was among the works illustrated in Carl Einstein’s seminal publication Negerplastik, the first essay.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Figure: Female
Date: 19th - early 20th century (before 1913)
Geography: Republic of the Congo
Culture: Beembe peoples
Medium: Wood with glass, white pigment, and animal claw
Dimensions: H. x W. x D.: 23 11/16 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (60.2 x 14 x 11.5 cm)
Classification: Wood-Sculpture
Credit Line: The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing