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Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog

Kongo peoples; Yombe group

19th–early 20th century, inventoried 1928

Not on view

This woman’s upward gaze of concentration, kneeling stance, and gesture of holding a small vessel may represent her invocation of a higher power. The vessel is likely filled with holy water or redwood powder associated with Lemba rituals. Her left hand supports the shoulder of a miniature male figure seated with legs extended on her knee. He raises his right hand to grasp her breast and reaches with his left toward a dog, a creature seen to be at home in the realms of the living and of the ancestors.

Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog, Wood, Kongo peoples; Yombe group — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog, Wood, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog, Wood, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog, Wood, Kongo peoples; Yombe group

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog

Date: 19th–early 20th century, inventoried 1928

Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Cabinda, Angola; Republic of the Congo

Culture: Kongo peoples; Yombe group

Medium: Wood

Dimensions: H. 12 5/8 in. (32 cm), W. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm), D. 3 3/4 in. ( 9.5 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Horstmann Collection, Zug, Switzerland

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.