ClassificationsAfrican Art

Knife with Figurative Handle

Place CreatedDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

CultureMangbetu

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumIron, wood

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Dimensions14 x 1 3/4 in. (35.6 x 4.4 cm)

Object number2003.065.006

Label TextAmong the Magbetu, objects with representational imagery became popular in the late 19th century due to patronage from the royal court and from Western explorers. The court favored figurative imagery as a mark of prestige while Westerners admired the fine craftsmanship. Although figurative objects did not appear among the Mangbetu until the 1870s, figuration was long established among the neighboring Azande. In fact, it is likely that many "Mangbetu" art works were actually commissioned from Azande artists. These objects, like this knife, feature images of Mangbetu women whose elongated foreheads were considered to be highly attractive. Elite women wrapped their heads with twine and wove their hair onto conical basket structures. They also tattooed and painted their bodies. On the knife hilt, the stylized figure's large hands cover the "negbe," a bark cloth apron fashionable in the early 1900s.
Exhibition HistoryAfrican Metal Implements: Weapons, Tools, and Regalia: Collection of Frederick and Claire Mebel, Hillwood Art Gallery, Greenvale, New York, 1984
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 3, September 26, 1998 - Spring 2003
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, March 2006 - March 13, 2007
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - December 1, 2014
Published ReferencesPeter Westerdijk, African Metal Implements: Weapons, Tools, and Regalia: Collection of Frederick & Claire Mebel (Greenvale, NY: Hillwood Art Gallery, 1984), 35, number 144.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May, 2004.

ProvenanceEx coll. Frederick (1913-1998) and Claire (1916-1994) Mebel, New York, from at least 1984. Thence by descent to Steven and Elaine Schwartzreich, New York. Purchased by MCCM from the Schwartzreichs.

Status

Not on view

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