Online catalogue for the 60th tribal art auction
321 Cup
D. R. Congo, Kuba
wood, brown patina, circular open worked base, figural carved handle (human face, grooved neck, hand), collection number "NYAI-79" (bottom), min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion
H: 21,5 cm
H: 8.5 inch
Provenance
Galerie Inge Hett, Berlin, Germany
Literature
Krieger, Kurt, Westafrikanische Plastik, Bd. III., Berlin 1969, ill. 230
Price: 1500 - 2000 €
322 Friction oracle "itombwa"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Kuba
wood, dark brown patina, a short-legged elongated body with flat back and human head, conical shaped implement for rubbing, fixed by plant fibre, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage; regarded as infallible divinatory instruments, friction oracles were used to mediate between diviners and omniscient nature spirits in order to determine the cause of illness and appropriate courses of treatment and to expose dishonesty.
L: 31,5 cm; H: 5,5 cm
L: 12.4 inch; H: 2.2 inch
Provenance
Kevin Conru, London, Great Britain
Literature
LaGamma, Alisa, Art and Oracle, African Art and Rituals of Divination, The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York 2000, p. 44 f.
Price: 1800 - 3500 €
323 Power half figure "kakudji"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Kusu
wood, reddish brown patina, cylindrical trunk with the hands on the hips, the lower part coated with cotton fabric, string with numerous different paraphernalia around the neck (vertebra, seeds, animal skin), cavity on top of the head with various magical materials inserted and fixed with mass, slightly dam., missing part (backside at the coiffure), crack (back), rep. aside the trunk (filled with mass) and at the base, on block-like mount
H: 30 cm
H: 11.8 inch
Provenance
Joseph Christiaens, Brussels, Belgium
Sotheby's New York, Important Tribal Art, November 29/30, 1984, lot 570
Literature
Felix, Marc L., 100 Peoples of Zaire and their Sculpture, Brüssel 1987, p. 66 f.
Sold.
324 Standing male ancestor figure
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Kusu
wood, middle and reddish brown patina with traces of black paint, camwood powder, the facial features carved flat and regular, the ornamental effect enhanced by the stylized hands resting aside the beard, cylindrical coiffure with burled pattern and round cavity on top for insertion of magical substances, dam., both lower legs missing through insect caused damage, place of repair (shoulder and hand on the right), on metal base; considering the abundance of carving from most Lubaized cultures the Kusu have not sculpted very much. Their typology is limited. Though they are a mix of various cultures, most of the sculpture we know that can be ascribed with relative certainty to the Kusu is strongly Hemba-influenced, such as the smaller clan ancestor figures like the present one. Their charged figures, that usually have a cavity in the head filled with symbolic ingredients, seem to have found their origin among the Songe.
H: 32 cm
H: 12.6 inch
Provenance
Mon Steyaert, Brussels, Belgium
Literature
Felix, Marc L., 100 Peoples of Zaire and their Sculpture, The Handbook, Brüssel 1987, p. 66 f.
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 242
Sold.
325 Dance club "ebongo"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Kuyu
wood, polychrome paint, staff-shaped handle, carved with a grooved neck, supporting a head with high cresting, three-parted coiffure, raised facial features intermingled with ornamental scarification marks, arranged in curved and linear bands, as well as in concentric circles, the side parts of the coiffure provided with drilled holes for fixing feathers, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion, minor missing parts, on metal base; used for the so-called "kébé-kébé" snake dance, which finished the initiation of young boys.The head sculptures were attached to staffs, which the dancers held with stretched out arms high above their heads. Their bodies were completely concealed by long costumes and the heads abundantly decorated with feathers. The face was whitened, in the colour of death, while the scarification marks were polychrome painted. After the dance, the clubs were plugged into wooden figures, which were decorated likewise.
H: 52,5 cm
H: 20.7 inch
Provenance
Coll. Helmut Gernsheim, Castagnola, Switzerland
Coll. Arendt Oetker, Berlin, Germany
Literature
Kerchache, Jacques, Paudrat, Jean-Louis u.a., Die Kunst des Schwarzen Afrika, Freiburg, Basel, Wien 1988, p. 579
Sold.
326 Dance club "ebongo"
D. R. Congo, Kuyu
light brown wood, black and red paint, staff-shaped handle, the neck decorated with geometrical ornaments, supporting a big head with flat facial features, an oval mouth with revealed teeth, crowned by a high tapering coiffure, min. dam., cracks, traces of insect caused damage, slight signs of abrasion, on metal base
H: 51 cm
H: 20.1 inch
Provenance
Coll. Martin Lippmann, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 22. November 2003, lot 356
Literature
Kerchache, Jacques, Paudrat, Jean-Louis u.a., Die Kunst des Schwarzen Afrika, Freiburg, Basel, Wien 1988, p. 579
Price: 1400 - 2500 €
327 Mask "lukwakongo"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Lega
wood, spotted brown patina, remains of kaolin, of oval form with a heart-shaped facial plane, a flat, arrow-shaped nose and a "smiling" mouth, pierced around the rim, min. dam., cracks, missing parts at the back, signs of abrasion; young men received the "lukwakongo" masks during the "yananio" rites. These masks were the most important insignia of rank until the owner moves to the higher level of "kindi" and trades his wooden mask for an ivory one, called "lukungu". These masks were emblems of rank and visible signs for the connection between the deceased and the living, between former initiates and their successors. They were presented during different stages of initiation.
H: 21,5 cm
H: 8.5 inch
Price: 1400 - 2500 €
328 Multiheaded figure "sakimatwematwe"
D. R. Congo, Lega
wood, dark red patina, a crude carved female figure, the back of the head carved with a second face, simplified as the first, but individually formed, slightly dam. (feet), on metal plate; the multi-headed figure demonstrates the ability of the high-level "bwami" members, as a result of the initiation process, to see in many different directions and to be wise and fair minded.
H: 18 cm
H: 7.1 inch
Provenance
Manfred Schäfer, Ulm, Germany
Price: 800 - 1500 €
329 Standing figure
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Lega
wood, blackish brown patina, composed of simple forms, the waisted barrel-shaped trunk with raised vertical middle ridge and short stump arms, the face typical heart-shaped flattened and the eyes bean-shaped raised, dam. (chin, nose, eyes), paint rubbed off, missing parts (both foot tips), on blocklike base; "bwami" members of "yananio" or "kindi" levels can individually or collectively own anthropomorphic figures. All figures, however, are initiation objects and share certain characteristics: they appear in layered metaphors; they present positive and negative role models within the "bwami"ethical system; they are only viewed during "bwami" initiations. Therefore, non-initiates or "bwami" members of lower ranks do not see or theoretically know about the existence of the pieces.
H: 26,5 cm
H: 10.4 inch
Provenance
Philippe & Lisa Laeremans, Liège, Belgium
Literature
Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 142 f.
Price: 7500 - 15000 €
330 Standing figure
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Lega
ivory, simple forms, dotted scarification marks, dyed in black, on base; within man's society "bwami", just members of the level of "kindi" were allowed to possess such ivory figures. Each object was combined with special proverbs implying positive or negative meaning, depending on the context in which they were used.
H: 12 cm
H: 4.7 inch
Provenance
Private Collection, Italy (1910)
Literature
Biebuyck, Daniel P., Lega - Ethics and Beauty in the Heart of Africa, Ausst.kat., Brüssel 2002, p. 144 f.
Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 165, ill. 8.93
Price: 2500 - 5000 €
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