Chokwe Ensemble

CultureChokwe peoples

Datelate 1800s

MediumNatural fiber

DimensionsOverall: 65 × 20 1/2 × 18 1/2 inches (165.1 × 52.07 × 46.99 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2019.16

On View

Not on view

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionThis Chokwe costume features intricate geometric designs on the torso and horizontal bands along the limbs. Natural fibers dyed red, black, dark brown and light brown emphasize the dynamic nature of the overall design created with a technique of fine weaving. This complete ensemble (including fingered gloves, coverings for the feet, and a flowing hairstyle made of braided strands radiating from the crown of the head in 360 degrees) would have hidden the identity of the performer.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Clair-Obscur, Gallery Schoffel/Valluet, September 2008.

Provenance

Alexis van Opstal (1874-1936), Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium, by 1936 [1];

By descent to his daughter, Lucienne van Opstal (1912-1993), 1936-1993;

By descent to her daughter, Isabelle Thèves-Van Opstal, 1993-2008;

Purchased at her sale, Art Tribal, Artcurial, Hôtel Dassault, Paris, June 10, 2008, lot 75, by Judith Schoffel and Christophe de Fabry, Paris, 2008-2019;

Purchased at Schoffel’s sale, Art of Africa Masterworks, Christie’s, New York, May 14, 2019, lot 9, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2019.

NOTES:

[1] According to van Opstal family tradition, most of van Opstal’s collection was acquired in Congo by Major Laurent, a van Opstal family friend and administrator for the Compagnie du Fer du Congo from 1910-1930. See Art Tribal: ancienne collection van Opstal… (Paris: Artcurial, 2008), 5.

Published References

Tentoonstelling van Kongo-Kunst, an exhibition organized by Frans Olbrechts in Antwerp's ‘Salle de Fêtes' in 1937

Art Tribal: ancienne collection van Opstal… (Paris: Artcurial, 2008), 28, (repro.).

Jean-François Chavanne, Clair-Obscur (Paris: Gallery Schoffel/Valluet, 2008), unpaginated, (repro).

Art of Africa Masterworks (New York: Christie’s, 2019), 60-65, (repro.).

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