Statue

Museum number:
5-14851
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050014851
Accession number:
Acc.3882
Description:
Divination figure; long body with four legs, each beautifully carved with incised geometric design; its head is long-necked anthropomorphic carving; reddish brown encrusted wood. Divination figure usually “carved in the form of a crocodile, pig, or dog. A series of alternatives are stated while rubbing the flat back of the animal figure with a wetted nut or wooden piece; when this sticks and does not fall off when the figure is inverted, the correct statement is indicated.” Length 30 cm.
Donor:
Mrs. Stanley Zuckerman and Stanley Zuckerman
Collection place:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Verbatim coll. place:
Congo Kinshasa; Zaire
Culture or time period:
Ba Kuba
Materials:
Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Statues
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Statue, accession number 5-14851, described as Divination figure; long body with four legs, each beautifully carved with incised geometric design; its head is long-necked anthropomorphic carving; reddish brown encrusted wood. Divination figure usually “carved in the form of a crocodile, pig, or dog. A series of alternatives are stated while rubbing the flat back of the animal figure with a wetted nut or wooden piece; when this sticks and does not fall off when the figure is inverted, the correct statement is indicated.” Length 30 cm.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Statue, accession number 5-14851, described as Divination figure; long body with four legs, each beautifully carved with incised geometric design; its head is long-necked anthropomorphic carving; reddish brown encrusted wood. Divination figure usually “carved in the form of a crocodile, pig, or dog. A series of alternatives are stated while rubbing the flat back of the animal figure with a wetted nut or wooden piece; when this sticks and does not fall off when the figure is inverted, the correct statement is indicated.” Length 30 cm.

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