Online catalogue for the 60th tribal art auction
391 Mask "kakuungu"
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Suku
wood, traces of blue and black paint, extremely elongated form with a bulging forehead, cheeks and chin formed like "plump bags", the face halves dyed in red and white, dam., paint rubbed off, missing parts at the rim (chin area), traces of insect caused damage, old place of repair (upper rim/breakage fixed with nails); "kakuungu" is the largest of the initiation masks danced by the Suku and Yaka peoples. It has a female counterpart named "kazeba". Both masks are called upon for the treatment of impotence and sterility. They are displayed in "mbwoolo" shrines when not in use. "Mbwoolo" is a society that ensures communal and individual health and vigor.
H: 65 cm
H: 25.6 inch
Provenance
Coll. Jäger, Aachen, Germany
Literature
Herreman, Frank, To Cure and Protect, Sickness and Health in African Art, New York 1999, p.32, ill. 47
Sold.
392 Female figure
D. R. Congo, Suku
wood, dark, reddish brown patina, cylindrical trunk with the arms carved close to the body, hole on top of the head, min. dam., small missing parts (base), cracks, slight signs of abrasion, on metal base
H: 29,5 cm
H: 11.6 inch
Provenance
Private Collection, Germany
Literature
Bourgeois, Arthur P., Art of the Yaka and Suku, Paris 1984, p. 223, ill. 211
Price: 800 - 1500 €
393 Standing female figure "biteki koshi"
D. R. Congo, Suku
wood, reddish brown patina, red pigment, a crude carved body, small drilled holes in head, ears, forearms and between the legs ("cryptofetish") for insertion of magical substances, slightly dam., cracks (backside), on block-like base; commemorative statues and ancestral figures like the present one are considered to be abodes for the invisible benevolent forces of the ancestors. They are used by healers, diviners and clan chiefs in rituals pertaining to the ancestral cult.
H: 20 cm
H: 7.9 inch
Price: 1000 - 2000 €
394 Power figure
D. R. Congo, Suku
wood, dark brown patina, rising from slightly bent legs, dressed with an apron, a package of magical mass including feathers attached to the upper arm, the cavity in the breast filled with magical mass, a string of glass beads with small animal horns around the neck, the head showing tribe-typical facial features, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion, on metal plate; probably a magical figure called "phuungu". These figures served as containers for protective magical power exercised by the experts against illness, to avenge sorcery and for supernatural assistance in hunting.
H: 52,5 cm
H: 20.7 inch
Provenance
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany
Literature
Bourgeois, Arthur P., Art of the Yaka and Suku, Paris 1984, p. 214
Price: 3000 - 6500 €
395 Amulet
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Suku/Yaka
wood, dark brown patina, feathers, consisting of two small wooden figures with elaborate carved faces and dotted scarification marks, the bodies entirely covered by a package of magical mass, tied together with plaited plant fibres, bundles of little wooden sticks attached, min. dam., small missing parts, slight signs of abrasion, on metal base
H: 10 cm
H: 3.9 inch
Provenance
Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
Literature
Fagg, William, Miniature Wood Carvings of Africa, New York 1970, p. 72
Sold.
396 Slit drum
D. R. Congo, Suku
wood, dark brown patina, remains of kaolin, in the shape of an armless half figure with slit-like deepened corpus, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion, fissures, on metal plate; the diviner uses this drum to accompany the singings initiating the oracle. The rectangular opening was not just a resonator, it could contain magical mass as well.
H: 43,5 cm
H: 17.1 inch
Literature
Cogdell, Jacqueline, Turn up the Volume! A Celebration of African Music, University of California 1999, p. 287, ill. 93
Price: 600 - 1500 €
397 Twin figures
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Tabwa
wood, reddish brown patina, traces of black paint, nearly identical formed cylindrical bodies rising from disc-shaped feet, their flat heads covered with disc-shaped hats, connected with plant fibre cord, slightly dam., missing parts (base and hat of both of the figures); twins play important roles in Tabwa histories and beliefs as culture heroes. A proxy for the deceased twin, a twin figure is fed, bathed, loved and put to bed with the living twin.
H: 16,5 cm
H: 6.5 inch
Provenance
Dr. Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany
Literature
Cameron, Elisabeth L., Isn't she a doll? Play and Ritual in African Sculpture, Los Angeles 1996, p. 82
Sold.
398 Standing female figure
This object is not available any more.
D. R. Congo, Tabwa
wood, reddish brown patina with traces of black paint, diminutive figure with delicate carved details (hands, facial features, grooved coiffure), cavity on top of the head with inserted magical matter, slightly dam., missing part at the back of the base, on plate; presumably an individual protective figure, called "kakudji".
H: 17 cm
H: 6.7 inch
Provenance
Coll. Dandoy, Belgium
Literature
Felix, Marc L., 100 Peoples of Zaire and their Sculpture, The Handbook, Brüssel 1987, p. 171
Price: 1000 - 2000 €
399 Standing figure
D. R. Congo, Tabwa
wood, blackish brown patina, camwood powder, a slender elongated torso, flanked by long angled arms, a massive neck supporting a triangular face, long pendant hairstyle with raised central ridge and incised ornaments, remarkable band tattoos on nose bridge, temples and breast, slightly dam. (ears, breast), missing parts (both foot tips), place of repair (right arm), on base; Tabwa sculpture found its sources in two worlds, Luba to the West and North and Azania to the East and South. From the Luba they borrowed the clan ancestor figures, sometimes in pairs, and kept in special shrines. Present figure presumably coming from the area near Ujiji, on the Eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
H: 31,5 cm
H: 12.4 inch
Provenance
Old Colonial Collection, Germany
Literature
Roberts, Allen F., Maurer, Evan M. (ed.), Tabwa - The Rising of a New Moon: A Century of Tabwa Art, Washington D.C. 1985, p. 76 f., ill. III.55
Price: 20000 - 40000 €
400 Male magical figure "biteki"
D. R. Congo, Teke
wood, mat, greyish brown patina, cylindrical armless trunk with rectangular cavity for insertion of magical mass, the bearded head with characteristic vertical striations on the face, min. dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (feet), slight signs of abrasion, on metal base
H: 32,5 cm
H: 12.8 inch
Price: 600 - 1500 €
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