Online catalogue for the 65th tribal art auction

381 Receptacle with power figure

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

ceramics, clay-like mass, snail shells, plant fibre and cord material, a wooden figure with hornlike projection on the head, dam., missing parts (rim), cracks, slight traces of abrasion

H: 22,5 cm
H: 8.9 inch

Provenance
Coll. Werner Fischer, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Published in
Volkshochschule Marl, Geist-Reich, Zeugnisse schwarzafrikanischer Hochkulturen, Marl 2000, p. 50 f.

Price: 700 - 1400 €

382 Mask with horns "kifwebe"

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

wood, blackish brown patina, kaolin, camwood powder, small traces of indigo blue paint, of oval hollowed, elongated form with a tapering snout, crowned by massive horns, curved backwards, a few incised lines marking single compartments, drilled holes aroung the rim, min. dam., traces of old insect caused damage, crack, on metal base; since the mid-1980's some variations on the typical "kifwebe" masks appeared. Some obvious animal references were added to the classic rectangular box-shape. Some had horns curving downward for a ram, or upward for an antelope, or backward for a goat. Some had large ears flanking the forehead as a jackal. Some of these zoomorphic "bifwebe" were more colorful than the classical white and black Luba "bifwebe". Sometimes blue, green or yellow were added. This developement continued, box-shape and grooved pattern more and more receded, in favour of a more naturalistic forming of the animal masks. Farther south in eastern Lubaland, towards the Zela homeland, the masks became even more realistic and the grooves were reduced to such an extent, that there was only left a symbolic reference to the classic "bifwebe" masks. Present mask can be seen within the range of this developement.

H: 49 cm
H: 19.3 inch

Provenance
Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
Marc L. Felix, Brussels, Belgium
Galerie Franke, Stuttgart, Germany
Private Collection, Stuttgart, Germany

Literature
Felix, Marc L., Beauty and the beasts, New Jersey 2003, p. 71 f.

Price: 9000 - 18000 €

383 Board-shaped mask in "kifwebe" style

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

wood, dark brown patina, the upper and lower rim of the board arranged in flat bows, the superimposed half-spherical mask coated with incised linear grooves in style of the "kifwebe" masks, drilled holes, slightly dam., minor missing parts, paint rubbed off, rep. (nose tip); "kifwebe" is a society in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was probably founded in the northern Shaba-Province (Katanga), where Songe and Luba groups mix.

H:18 cm; B: 27 cm
H:7.1 inch; B: 10.6 inch

Provenance
Peter Loebarth, Hameln, Germany

Sold.

384 Mask "kifwebe"

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

light brown wood, polychrome paint, of flat rectangular form with a superimposed human face, bonnet and beard of plant fibre, pierced around the rim, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on base

H: 36 cm
H: 14.2 inch

Literature
Felix, Marc L., Beauty and the beasts, New Jersey 2003, p. 80, ill. 110

Sold.

385 Ritual implement

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

wood, middle brown patina, stylized trunk with poker work, a cavity partly filled with mass on top, an anthropomorphic being (body of an ape, human head) lateral, slightly dam., paint rubbed off, rep. (arms, legs), on base

H: 65 cm
H: 25.6 inch

Provenance
OldColonial Collection, Belgium

Price: 400 - 800 €

386 Caryatid stool

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luba

wood, matt shining patina, remains of kaolin, kneeling female figure supporting a round seat, the eyes accentuated with silver paint, rep. (seat), slight traces of abrasion; the female caryatid figures can be recognized as notables, depicting ancestors and female clan founders.The carayatid stools were reserved for the chief and represented the continuity of power.

H: 36,5 cm
H: 14.4 inch

Provenance
Adalbert von Alföldy, Eislingen, Germany

Price: 1000 - 2000 €

387 Mask

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Lula

wood, partly encrusted patina, white, red and black pigment remains, shield-shaped vaulted base, carved with raised facial features, various drilled holes, fissures, slight traces of abrasion; the mask style of the Lula is very similar to that of the neighbouring Holo, Zombo, Nkanu and Soso. These masks were used to protect initiates of witches and sorcerers.

H: 37 cm
H: 14.6 inch

Provenance
Peter Loebarth, Hameln, Germany
Wolfgang Nerlich, Munich, Germany

Literature
Felix, Marc L., 100 Peoples of Zaire and their Sculpture, Brüssel 1987, p. 87, ill. 9

Sold.

388 Helmet mask

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Bena - Lulua

wood, greyish brown patina, white and red paint, of cylindrical form with a flat headcrest, characterized by protruding eye lids, the mouth framed by concentrical grooves, a two-parted coiffure in shape of curved ram horns backside, hole on top of the head, drilled holes around the lower rim with remains of cord material, old collection number handwritten on the inside "P49", collection label "Bena Lulua, Bwa Luntu, 1953" at the same place, slightly dam., cracks, minor missing parts, paint rubbed off, rep. (fissure filled with wood/mass); masks are very rare among the Bena Lulua. They are used in circumcision rites and at funerals of notables.

H: 36 cm
H: 14.2 inch

Provenance
Lore Kegel, Hamburg, Germany (coll in situ, 1953)

Literature
Herreman, Frank, Petridis, Constantijn (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 120

Sold.

389 Standing figure

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Bena - Lulua

wood, slightly shiny reddish brown patina, of great expressivity regarding posture and forms of the body: the mouth wide open with both hands up to the cheeks and the upper part of the body bent forward, as if expressing the effort of screaming, striking enhancement of the joints and modeling of shanks and feet, which show nearly naturalistic appeal; fine linear scarifications in the shame area, tattoos underneath the eyes, old place of repair (left arm, right hand), cracks, on plate; next to large warrior figures, which also were taken to the battlefield, mainly small personal protective figures have become known from the Lulua. They serve as means for the general well-being of the community, others bring fortune and beauty, and again others protect pregnant women or encourage fertility. They are called "lupfingu" or "mbulenga" and are carried by women under the belt that holds their wrapping cloth together.

H: 22,5 cm
H: 8.9 inch

Provenance
Bonhams New York, "Fine African and Oceanic Art", 15 May 2008, lot 741

GVR Archives Registration No.
0082129

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 396
Felix, Marc L., 100 Peoples of Zaire and their Sculpture, Brüssel 1987, p. 81 f.

Price: 5000 - 10000 €

390 Ritual object

This object is not available any more.

D. R. Congo, Luntu

wood, miniature figure with plastical carved facial features and attached animal tail

H: 6 cm (Figur); L: 22 cm (Tierschweif)
H: 2.4 inch (Figur); L: 8.7 inch (Tierschweif)

Price: 300 - 600 €