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Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands

Master of Kasadi

19th century, inventoried 1898

Not on view

The figurative and abstract dimensions of Kongo visual expression are masterfully bridged in this single work. The focus of the front is the enigmatic dynamic between the poised and commanding female figure and the supine miniature adult male, with clasped hands and serene expression, in her care. In contrast, the female’s back is purely concerned with the dazzling geometric graphic patterns evident in the earliest Kongo textiles and ivories.

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Figure: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands, Master of Kasadi, Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment, 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.

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: Seated Female Supporting Figure with Clasped Hands

Artist: Master of Kasadi

Date: 19th century, inventoried 1898

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

Culture: Kongo peoples, Yombe group

Medium: Wood, metal, glass, kaolin, pigment

Dimensions: H. 10 7/8 in. ( 27.5 cm), W. 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm), D. 4 5/8 in. (11.7cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Ross Art Management, LLC, New York

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.