Hand on his chin, this figure is a reminder of the countless men who sat through public meetings in the Kongo kingdom. Participants were seated in circles for open debates, a process that was watched and admired by observers as a demonstration of social art and organizational skill. At times up to a thousand individuals would convene to listen to exchanges of confessions, proverbs, songs and gifts.
Wood
5 x 2 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (12.7 x 6.4 x 7 cm)
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection
68.54
Photo: Paul Macapia
Now on view at the
Seattle Art Museum
Resources
Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, California, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Kongo Power Figures, Nov. 15, 1989 - Jan. 21, 1990.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 157, 159, reproduced pl. 78.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
