Skip navigation
Classification is ?
Object Name contains ?
People (Maker/Artist) contains ?
You may redefine your search by checking this box.
Figure
Date: Mid 20th century
Maker: Teke peoples
Medium: Wood, pigment, cloth, encrustation, elephant hair
Subjects: Power
Dimensions: H x W x D: 27.3 x 3.5 x 4.8 cm (10 3/4 x 1 3/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Eliot Elisofon
Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geography: Congo

Wood figures filled with medicines are among the major art forms of the Teke peoples. The faces of these figures often display the deeply carved, evenly spaced vertical lines of traditional Teke scarification and the hatlike hairstyles of noble families. The arms were often not fully carved because they were to be covered. Some of the figures in this grouping are empty of medicine and some are full.

On Exhibit: Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa
Object Number: 73-7-399