Figure: Seated Female Nursing Child
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The female figures attributed to the Master of Boma-Vonde constitute denser, rounded bodily presences. The woman’s head is proportionally dominant, and her voluptuous body envelops that of the infant. While there is no documentation of the original purpose of this work, many such Kongo maternities were likely used in the practice of ritual specialists devoted to women’s concerns ranging from infertility to midwifery.
Artwork Details
- Title: Figure: Seated Female Nursing Child
- Artist: Master of the Boma-Vonde Region
- Date: 19th–early 20th century
- Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kai Kuinba village [?]; Republic of the Congo; Cabinda, Angola
- Culture: Kongo peoples; Yombe group
- Medium: Wood, kaolin, glass
- Dimensions: H. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm), W. 5 in. (12.7 cm), D. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: Collection of Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm, Tenafly, New Jersey
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing