Yombe artist. <em>Figure of Mother and Child (Phemba)</em>, 19th century. Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin, 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1138. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 22.1138_threequarter_left_PS9.jpg)

Yombe artist. Figure of Mother and Child (Phemba), 19th century. Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin, 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1138. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 22.1138_threequarter_left_PS9.jpg)

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Figure of Mother and Child (Phemba)

Arts of Africa

On View: Special Exhibitions, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

This Kongo sculpture appears to depict a mother and her child, though the adult figure looks beyond the infant, who doesn’t lean into her breast. The inconsistency between their possible relationship and gestures suggests a deeper meaning. In the Yombe region, Kongo society is matrilineal and has female clan founders (mpemba). Their sweeping hairstyle, seen here, is similarly called mphemba, alluding to that role. Thus, this mphemba-wearing woman is likely a clan progenitor, and the other figure her descendant. This and other similar sculptures are linked to a Kongo fertility-focused women’s cult that flourished from 1770 to 1850, during the height of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. During this period, women both raised children and took on customarily male agricultural roles. This sculpture underscores how Kongo women supported future generations during a time of widespread social upheaval and trauma.

CULTURE Yombe artist

MEDIUM Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin

Possible Place Made: Lower Congo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DATES 19th century

DIMENSIONS 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa

ACCESSION NUMBER 22.1138

CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

PROVENANCE Prior to 1922, provenance not yet documented; by 1922, acquired by François Poncelet of Brussels, Belgium; 1922, purchased in Brussels from François Poncelet by Stewart Culin for the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved wooden mother and child. Mother, who is nursing child, is seated cross-legged, supporting child's head with right hand and legs with left hand. She has high, spade-like headdress, open protruding mouth revealing filed teeth, and glass eyes with black pupils. Ears are carved spatially and have pink bead earrings strung on wire through ear lobes. Over much of shoulders and back are scarification marks. Above breasts are a band and a necklace. Infant child, with mirror in center of abdomen, has hand on mother's stomach. Second mirror is attached with four nails to lower part of mother's back. There is a deep crack running down the figure of the mother from below her chin through the torso. Other cracks throughout figure and base. Often old crack repairs open up again and need to be refilled.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Special Exhibitions, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Yombe artist. Figure of Mother and Child (Phemba), 19th century. Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin, 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1138. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 22.1138_threequarter_left_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE 22.1138_threequarter_left_PS9.jpg., 2019

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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