Skip Navigation

Collection Menu
Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)
Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)
Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)

Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)

Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_front_bw.jpg)

Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_front_bw.jpg)

Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32.jpg)

Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32.jpg)

Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_side_bw.jpg)

Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_side_bw.jpg)

Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_threequarter_bw.jpg)

Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.68.32_print_threequarter_bw.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)

Arts of Africa

This figure was created to commemorate an ancestor chief, although it does not represent the deceased in a literal way. Such figures are kept by the current chief to symbolize the historical precedent on which his authority is based and the perpetuation of the clan.
CULTURE Hemba
MEDIUM Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed
  • Place Made: Kongolo region, Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • DATES late 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 68.32
    CREDIT LINE Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved lightwood male figure. Elaborate dark-stained 3-element headdress at back. Two side projections and a flat incised center. Pointed and deeply incised beard along chin. Oval face with eyes and eyebrows a sries of ovals, straight tappering nose, thin pursed lips, neck straight cylindrical. Upper torso with crudely finished hands and fingers at stomach centered by navel. Muscles of chest and arms indicated, flexed knees and prominent penis hidden beneath reed skirt. Flat web-like feet (toes represented) a part of the thick circular base. Under surfaces unpolished, high polish on head and upper torso. CONDITION: Good: Small cracks throughout. One large gapping crack at back from headdress to base, some native repairs. Small chip at tip of nose.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Hemba. Standing Male Figure (Sigiti), late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 68.32_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Hemba. <em>Standing Male Figure (Sigiti)</em>, late 19th century. Carved, stained lightwood, incised, polished, woven reed, 17 3/4 x 8 x 8 in. (45.1 x 20.3 x 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Florence and Carl L. Selden Foundation, 68.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.32_PS2.jpg)

    TAGS

    carved
    wood
    beard
    standing
    man
    goatee
    nipples
    splayed fingers
    facial hair
    male figure
    Sigiti
    Ancestor veneration

    TAGS

    carved
    wood
    beard
    standing
    man
    goatee
    nipples
    splayed fingers
    facial hair
    male figure
    Sigiti
    Ancestor veneration

    RELATED OBJECTS

    Model of Loom Dough Bowl Olla or Jar Kachina Doll (Kyanaque Kahana) Kachina Doll (Tsaveyo) Kachina Doll (Ainshi Koko) Sugar Bowl with Lid Spoon Compote (George Peabody) Mug (George Peabody) Bust of a Child: Pierre van Arsdale Smith Spoon Palm Wine Cup (Mbwoongntey) Ceremonial seat (ngundja) Ceremonial Staff (Kibango) Ceremonial Staff (Kibango) Stool Mask (Nganga Diphomba) Mask for the Okuyi Society (Mukudj) Mask (Pwoom Itok) Three-Headed Figure (Sakimatwemtwe) Hair Ornament Jar from Djoser’s Pyramid Complex Funerary Figurine of Montuemhat Relief of Ptolemy II Philadelphos Figural post Lion-Shaped Furniture Leg Carved Frog-shaped Bracelet Mask Bracelet Mask with Asymmetrical Face (Ekekek) Face Mask Mask Commemorative Figure (Singiti)