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Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog

19th–early 20th century, inventoried 1928
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Figure: Kneeling Female Holding Vessel with Seated Male and Dog
  • Date: 19th–early 20th century, inventoried 1928
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; Cabinda, Angola
  • 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
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing