Details

Title

Female Figure

Artist/Maker

Tabwa Artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Date

Late nineteenth to early twentieth century

Medium

Wood, beads, and string

Dimensions

8 1/2 x 2 7/16 x 2 1/2 inches

Credit

Fred and Rita Richman Collection

Accession #

2002.313

On View

Currently not on view

Though this sculpture is small in scale, it is carefully detailed with an elaborate hairstyle and intricate scarification on both its face and upper body. The vertical scarification pattern running down its length further emphasizes the elongation of its torso, punctuated by hands clasped at its waist. Strands of small beads ornament its neck and waist—a common form of body ornamentation within late-nineteenth-century Tabwa society. The pupils of its eyes and both earlobes are also fitted with small white beads.

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