CMA: African Art
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cmaafrican.bsky.social
CMA: African Art
@cmaafrican.bsky.social
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Sharing public domain works from the African Art department of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
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Soul Disk Pendant https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.84
Shared by different Akan and Akan-related peoples, including the Asante and Baule, gold ornaments indicate status and wealth and are worn at public festivals by titleholders, chiefs, and kings. Most pectoral disks are suspended over the chest by a white, pineapple-fiber cord. They are owned by the okra, a young official who purifies the chief’s soul--hence, the name akrafokonmu, meaning "soul-washer’s badges" or "soul disks."
February 18, 2026 at 8:18 AM
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Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.441
The Delenne’s stumbled upon this group of seven anthropomorphic figurines (2010.437–43) in an antiques shop in Nice during a holiday in the south of France in 1961. The carvings carry paperboard labels with inscriptions in French that indicate their ethnic and geographic provenance as well as some other details. Stemming from the Kongo region in West Central Africa, these seven sculptures feature a variety of gestures and poses, the use of mirror or glass for the eyes, and a red-white-black color scheme. They belong to the broad category of <em>minkisi</em> (singular <em>nkisi</em>), containers for medicines in which an ancestral spirit was believed to reside. Two of the group are minkisi of the <em>nduda</em> type, characterized by the attached "guns" loaded with gunpowder and used to shoot witches.
February 17, 2026 at 7:51 PM
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Ring https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.141
Ring
February 17, 2026 at 2:13 PM
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Thumb Piano https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.495
The thumb piano portrays a wonderfully animated man riding a curious quadruped. His hat suggests he is probably a trader.
February 17, 2026 at 10:59 AM
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Leopard Caryatid Stool https://clevelandart.org/art/2006.138
Bead-covered wooden stools and thrones are one of the most prevalent art forms among the various kingdoms and chiefdoms in the Cameroon grasslands. This example, once part of the royal treasury, belongs in the category of "travel stools," usually used in conjunction with more private, minor ceremonies and rituals at the palace. The leopard imagery confirms the object’s royal status. It alludes to the belief that the king was able to temporarily transform himself into this feared predator.
February 16, 2026 at 7:20 PM
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Jewelry https://clevelandart.org/art/1935.309
Shared by different Akan and Akan-related peoples, including the Asante and Baule, gold ornaments indicate status and wealth and are worn at public festivals by titleholders, chiefs, and kings. Most pectoral disks are suspended over the chest by a white, pineapple-fiber cord. They are owned by the okra, a young official who purifies the chief’s soul--hence, the name akrafokonmu, meaning "soul-washer’s badges" or "soul disks."
February 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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Pair of Figures https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.460
The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Because little research has been conducted in the region, data regarding the production, use, and meaning of Ubangi sculpture are scant. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair has been attributed to the little-known Monzombo and is said to represent the culture's primordial couple. However, no other sculptures have been ascribed to the Monzombo, and we lack further details on their art.
February 16, 2026 at 10:35 AM
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Prestige Chair https://clevelandart.org/art/1983.33
The Babanki, one of the chiefdoms that comprise the Cameroon Grassfields, value elaborately carved chairs or thrones. They serve as memorials or visual records that have helped to mark kingships through the ages in the wider Cameroon Grassfields. As prestige objects and a high art form, thrones convey authority and royalty; a new king commissions a royal throne to commemorate his ascension. This example is considered by scholars as one of the finest in the United States. It is unusual because it features male and female figures mounted on stylized leopards, revered as the embodiment of stately power and sacredness. Other notable examples have only male equestrian figures. Five additional leopards frame the openwork back rest. The lower part of the throne is covered by three undulating rings bearing 24 heads<br>carved in the typical Babanki style.
February 15, 2026 at 6:26 PM
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Gold Weight: Drum with Jaws of Defeated Enemies https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.266
The wealth and power of the Asante kingdom was derived primarily from its massive gold resources. Since at least 1600, small weights in brass and bronze were used to weight gold dust and nuggets. The royal court had the most elaborate store of weights, while commoners often had about a dozen. Their imagery falls into two broad cateogries: geometric and representational. The latter often refers to proverbs, which used judiciously, marked a wise person.
February 15, 2026 at 12:01 PM
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Mother and Child Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/1997.149
The Kongo people inhabit a large territory now divided among the nations of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, and Angola. The mother and child theme is common in the carving of the Yombe, one of the many Kongo ethnic groups; this example is distinguished by the emotionally powerful expression of the mother's gaunt face. The large size and soft wood of this sculpture indicate a funerary function and placement within a roofed ancestral shrine. The Yombe woman represented was clearly powerful; perhaps her fertility was critical to the survival and prosperity of her clan.
February 15, 2026 at 9:47 AM
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Helmet Mask https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.450
Suku helmet masks are often used in initiation ceremonies for young men in the society. The masks intend to protect the reproductive abilities of newly initiated males. Helmet masks such as this represent images of deceased elders in the society. They are believed to ensure successful hunting, help cure illnesses, and protect its wearer from evil. The handle was originally hidden by a fringe of raffia fibers. The gazelle or antelope shape is typically associated with folktales, proverbs, and personal hunting exploits.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 PM
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Half-Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.457
This torso is believed to be carved in the style of the Kusu people, closely related but little-known neighbors of the Luba. In fact, the figure's facial traits and coiffure are characteristic of Luba art. Iron tacks inserted into the lobes of the hairdo indicate that the sculpture was originally empowered with magical and medicinal substances. Thus charged, the figure would have been used in divination and was related to a powerful association known as Bugabo, popular during early colonial times among various peoples in eastern Congo; members specialized in healing, hunting, and fighting crime. Other such sculptures once topped gourds, and some rare complete examples have survived, but this was most likely never the case for this figure.
February 14, 2026 at 1:02 PM
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Male Figurine https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.434
This human-shaped <em>nkisi</em> in Yombe style—one of the most typical forms a spirit container can take among Kongo speakers in west-central Africa—features an enormous mirror-covered package on its stomach that is remarkably intact, meaning that the figure was not decommissioned before sale or disposal. The cloth bands and knots looped around its neck and down its back and fixed around its legs suggest that it was used to bind agreements or oaths. Most intriguing is the carving of a pangolin or scaly anteater atop the head, which represents leadership and the ability to reconcile social and cosmological contradictions; thus, the figure symbolized mediation of the spirit world and power.
February 14, 2026 at 10:03 AM
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Flywhisk https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.435
Flywhisks had the same purpose as scepters in Central Africa: rather than whisk away flies, they denoted status, rank, and function. Although commonly associated with chiefs and titleholders, they were likely also owned by ritual specialists, diviners, and healers. Little is known about their actual occurrence in Kongoland, but based on evidence from other regions, they may also have been used to purify ritually polluted spaces; to bless people, places, or things by sprinkling them with liquids; or to settle disputes in court when brandished by a judge. Rare are flywhisks depicting maternities, like this finely carved miniature of a woman kneeling-a sign of obedience and respect-who holds the child clinging to her body.
February 13, 2026 at 5:28 PM
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Corpus (Crucified Christ) https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.445
The Kingdom of Kongo was founded in the 1300s and rapidly consolidated into a centralized state. Shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cam in 1483, and the Catholic missionaries traveling with him, the Kongo king was baptized as João I, and Christianity became the state religion. Commercial and diplomatic relationships may have been solidified between the Kongo kingdom and the Portuguese, but civil war, the Atlantic slave trade, and Christian proselytism would cause serious disruption and turmoil in Kongo society during the ensuing centuries. Testifying to the interaction between Central African religion and Catholicism, Kongo crucifixes were created as new spiritual tools to help explain and alleviate the turbulent situation.
February 13, 2026 at 12:57 PM
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Janus Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.458
This Janus figure features opposing faces and symbolizes change and transformation. A cavity in the top of the head served to hold all sorts of ingredients with magical and medicinal qualities. Its brilliant patina reveals its use in repeated ritual applications, as the figure played a pivotal role in cults dedicated to the ancestors; in exchange for prayers, libations, and offerings, the ancestors were asked to safeguard the well-being and fertility of the population.The figure was called upon to remedy illness, pain, and other kinds of misfortune, and when displayed in a funerary house alongside the skulls of deceased chiefs and a number of large, standing ancestor figures, the sculpture was also used to solve female infertility and to protect and enhance the chief 's authority.
February 13, 2026 at 9:33 AM
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Male Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.431
This figure was the Delennes' first African art acquisition. They purchased the work in Paris in 1958—the year they were married—from the then leading French dealer Henri Kamer. The couple's interest in African art, which also inspired this particular acquisition, was triggered by their visit to the Congolese pavilion at the Brussels world's fair that same year. This experience made a lasting impression and triggered a lifelong appreciation for the art of what was then still the Belgian Congo. Although Odette later admitted that she knew that this figure was not the best example of Teke art, she and her husband held on to it because it served as a personal souvenir of their meeting each other.
February 12, 2026 at 4:13 PM
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Mother-and-Child Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.35
This mother-and-child figure was probably part of a cult concerned with the treatment of infertility. Both her jewelry and her seated pose indicate that the woman occupied a high rank in her community. Her miter-shaped hairstyle, chiseled teeth, and raised body scars--considered to be marks of beauty and perfection--signal that the woman incarnates the founding ancestor of a kinship group.
February 12, 2026 at 3:46 PM
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Hair Ornament https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.501
Hair Ornament
February 12, 2026 at 11:02 AM
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Club ("Knobkerrie") https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.203
Relatively short sticks were traditionally used for hunting and fighting and are customarily called knobkerries. The name refers to the characteristic spherical knob of wood or head atop a cylindrical shaft. The knobs were decorated with copper or brass studs or carved in various shapes and forms. Even though their basic shapes were derived from real weapons, many of these precious objects were rarely if ever used as such. Highly personal, they instead functioned as ceremonial display items or regalia, symbolizing the masculinity and prowess of their owner.
February 11, 2026 at 5:47 PM
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Neck Ornament https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.207
Typically such an ornament was worn by a woman in conjunction with other beadwork in complementary color schemes. In addition to making her own beadwork, however, a woman would also produce her husband’s beadwork and, before marriage, the beadwork worn by the young man courting her. Before the introduction of glass beads by European traders, southern African communities acquired beads of Indian manufacture from Arab traders.
February 11, 2026 at 3:45 PM
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Carved Tusk https://clevelandart.org/art/1968.284
Consisting of a clay platform built against a wall, the altars in the palace of the oba, the divine Benin king, are furnished with different ceremonial objects, including elephant tusks that the new oba commissions from the ivory carvers' guild within three years of his installation. Carved in parallel horizontal rows, the motifs covering the surface of the tusks recall historical and mythological traditions.
February 11, 2026 at 11:34 AM
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Figure Pair https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.297.2
Baule figures carved as pairs usually represent untamed spirits of the wilderness called <em>asye usu.</em> These spirits may intervene in the lives of individuals by taking possession of them. If this possession does not result in madness, it can lead to the human host’s becoming a diviner who can enter into a trance to reveal the causes of ailments and other misfortunes. People who feel their lives are being interrupted by the asye usu commission carvings representing idealized male and female forms whose grace and beauty in both anatomy and adornment will seduce the spirits and compel them to use the sculptures as their temporary homes.
February 10, 2026 at 4:44 PM
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Memorial Figure (Ere ibeji) https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.9
Such a figure is carved when a twin dies in infancy and serves as a memorial to the surviving sibling. These twin figures are always carved to look like adult individuals with idealized physical features. Various body adornments suggest the care parents devote to their children, while the erosion of facial features indicates the symbolic washing and feeding of the figure as a means to connect the soul of the deceased to that of the living twin.
February 10, 2026 at 12:27 PM
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Male Figure https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.433
Its size, facial features, feather headdress (as worn by a local <em>nganga</em> or ritual specialist), and hangings of cloth seem to indicate that this <em>nkisi</em> figure in Vili style belongs to a type called <em>nduda</em>. While the hangings incorporate the typical shells, trade beads, knotted cloth strips, and small horns filled with medicine, they do not include the central symbol of the classic nduda: "night guns," or small grass tubes extending from clay or resin and loaded with gunpowder that was discharged against witches. Unless its night guns were lost during the course of its life history, this nkisi may instead be an example of a more general type called<em> mpanzu</em>, whose functions included protection and self-defense.
February 10, 2026 at 9:44 AM