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Ancestral Shrine Figure: Kneeling Female with Vessel and Seated Figure

19th–early 20th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Female figures were prominently featured at the burial sites of Kongo leaders. A chief’s passing was marked by the construction of an ancestral shrine (nzo a bakulu) placed directly above his consecrated burial site (mpemba). Centrally positioned among the precious artifacts he had accrued over his lifetime were wood sculptures of spectral male and female figures that underscored the social rank of the individual commemorated. Such displays were maintained as acts of filial piety to strengthen ties to an influential ancestor and secure their protection.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ancestral Shrine Figure: Kneeling Female with Vessel and Seated Figure
  • Date: 19th–early 20th century
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; Angola
  • Culture: Kongo peoples; Yombe group
  • Medium: Wood, pigment, glass
  • Dimensions: H. 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm), W. 10 in. (25.4 cm), D. 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Dallas Museum of Art; The Clark and Frances Stillman Collection of Congo Sculpture, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing