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Source Description
The life of Lega men and women is structured around their advancement through the different grades of the Bwami association. Fulfilling political, social, religious, and other roles, the members’ ultimate purpose is the pursuit of wisdom and excellence. Ivory figurines were reserved for members of the two highest Bwami grades, in which the core of the Lega’s moral philosophy is revealed.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
163924
label
Figure (iginga)
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
163924
contentType
sculpture
title
Figure (iginga)
description
The life of Lega men and women is structured around their advancement through the different grades of the Bwami association. Fulfilling political, social, religious, and other roles, the members’ ultimate purpose is the pursuit of wisdom and excellence. Ivory figurines were reserved for members of the two highest Bwami grades, in which the core of the Lega’s moral philosophy is revealed.
date
probably 1800s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60778754
genreSpecific
Sculpture
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 16.7 x 5.5 x 4.5 cm (6 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
cul
Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lega-style maker
accession
2005.3
Source extras
tec
Elephant ivory, tukula, and oil
tombstone
Figure (iginga), probably 1800s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lega-style maker. Elephant ivory, tukula, and oil; overall: 16.7 x 5.5 x 4.5 cm (6 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2005.3
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
The dark surface (patina) of this sculpture comes from years of handling and the application of oil and a red powder called <em>tukula</em>; it was originally cream-colored!
citations
citation
Rachewiltz, Boris de. <em>Arte Africana. </em>[Rome]: [Istituto Grafico Tiberino], 1967.
page_number
14-15
citation
Debbaut, Jan, Dominique Favart, and G. van Geertruyen. <em>Utotombo: l'art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges : Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, 25 mars-5 juin 1988</em>. Bruxelles: Palais des beaux-arts, 1988.
page_number
243, cat. 246
citation
Cornet, Joseph, Angelo Turconi, and Mobutu Sese Seko. <em>Zaire: peuples/art/culture. Anvers: Fonds Mercator</em>, 1989.
page_number
120.
citation
Biebuyck, Daniel P., and Michel Boulanger.<em> Ethique et beauté Lega au cœur de l'Afrique</em>. Bruxelles: Snoeck-Ducaju, 2002.
page_number
152, cat. 91
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art.<em> Annual Report.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: The Museum, 2006.
page_number
22, 30
citation
Petridis, Constantine. "Good and Beautiful." <em>Cleveland Museum of Art Member's Magazine</em>. Cleveland Museum of Art, September 2006.
page_number
7-11
citation
Petridis, Constantine. "New Acquisitions of African Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art". <em>African Arts</em>. (44) No. 1, Spring 2011.
page_number
53; 56, Fig. 4.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann<em>. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
240-1
citation
Felix, Marc Leo. <em>White gold, black hands: ivory sculpture in Congo</em>. Qiquhar, Heilungkiang, China: Gemini Sun, Volume 6, June 2013.
page_number
Fig. 27a & b, p. 190-191, 242
citation
Rondeau, James, Constantijn Petridis, Yaëlle Biro, Herbert M. Cole, Kassim Kone, Babatunde Lawal, Wilfried Van Damme, and Susan Mullin Vogel. <em>The language of beauty in African art. </em>2022.
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:31:32.327000
sourceId
163924
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Elephant ivory, tukula, and oil
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5015993404abd6a5