Penn Museum 113 FIG. 24 (above): Caryatid headrest. Luluwa people, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood. H: 17.2 cm. Field collected by C. Blank in the Belgian Congo before 1920. Purchased from W. O. Oldman, London, 1924 (AF 5154). Image courtesy of the Penn Museum. Though carved headrests—figurative as well as nonfigurative ones—have been attributed to various peoples throughout different parts of Africa, examples in the Luluwa style are quite rare. The rendering of decorative and anatomical hallmarks of feminine beauty exemplifies the Luluwa’s ideal combination of physical beauty and moral goodness and underscores the inherent value of the headrest. Aside from its practical purpose as a pillow meant to safeguard the often complicated coiffure worn by the person who used it, as rendered in Luluwa sculpture, such an elaborately carved and decorated headrest most likely also served as an indicator of the status and prominence of its owner. C.P. FIG. 25 (below): Anthropomorphic pipe. Luba people, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, brass wire, brass tacks, tin, glass beads. H: 20.6 cm. Field collected by C. Blank in the Belgian Congo before 1920. Purchased from W. O. Oldman, London, 1924 (AF 5157). Image courtesy of the Penn Museum. Carved in a particular style attributed to an anonymous artist or workshop in the Luba-Shankadi region among the southwestern Luba, this is one of a small number of Luba pipes known, despite the fact that tobacco consumption has a long history in Lubaland. Tobacco leaves held an important place in regional and long-distance trade. Aside from serving as a mild narcotic, here, as elsewhere in Africa, tobacco also functioned and still functions as a means to establish and enhance social relationships. It appears that water pipes were especially popular because they helped reduce the harshness of the product. The rendering of a female figure has been related to culture-specific ideas about gender and the ambivalent position of women in Luba kinship theories. For more information, see especially Allen F. Roberts in Gustaaf Verswijver, et al. (eds.). Treasures from the Africa- Museum, Tervuren. Tervuren: Royal Museum for Central Africa, 1995. C.P.
I-IVCoverT68 E_CoverF Vuvi
To see the actual publication please follow the link above