The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2024

Figure (kiteki)

Figure (kiteki)

late 1800s–mid-1900s
Wood, lizard skin, leopard tooth, pods, cloth, and natural fiber
Overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1974.201
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan

Did You Know?

The sculptures and the specially selected materials inside assist the prayers of owners for protection from harm, sickness, or loss.

Description

Biteki is the generic name for Yaka figures used as containers for magical ingredients. After being charged by a ritual specialist, they become minkisi, or power objects, and gain the power to either cure or harm. This example, with various leadership accouterments, likely belongs to the category called phuungu. Placed inside a house, the statuette would have protected against witches and other evil.
  • 1965–1974
    Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1974–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    by at least 1965
    Harry Franklin, Los Angeles, CA
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Memorandum from William D. Wixom to Ursula Korneitchouk and Del Gutridge. 12/13/74. CMA Archives
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Reproduced: p. 96; Mentioned: p. 97, no. 23 www.jstor.org
    Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003. Reproduced: cat. 40, p. 110 - 111
  • CMA 1975: "Year in Review 1974," CMA Bulletin LXII (March, 1975), p. 97, no. 23, repr. p. 96.
    CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 232, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Figure (kiteki)|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–mid-1900s|access-date=22 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.201