1969.S.80 Clyster

This wooden irrigation funnel is decorated with the same intricate incised designs found on Kuba cut-pile and embroidered textiles. It was used to administer enemas to adults; there were smaller ones for children. A 19th-century African American missionary observed that the Kuba had a "taste for the beautiful," which clearly included making the most mundane objects visually appealing.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.80