Penn Museum 117 FIG. 31: Bowl-bearing female figure. Luba people, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, iron lancets. H: 32 cm. Ex: Joseph Van den Boogaerde, Enghien-les-Bains, France, 1913–16 to 1919 (field collected by Van den Boogaerde in the Belgian Congo, 1913–16); Charles Vignier, Paris, 1919/21. Exhibited in the De Zayas Gallery in New York in 1919. Purchased from Charles Vignier, Paris, 1921 (AF 5120). Image courtesy of the Penn Museum, image #161428. Luba sculptures representing a seated female figure holding a bowl in her lap are used in the context of divination sessions during which spirit possessions offer solutions to the clients’ questions and problems. Though he was a man according to Luba legend, some Luba spokespersons have interpreted the carved woman as the image of the first diviner, Mijibu wa Kalenga. The chalk originally contained in the bowl was used during divination as a symbol of spiritual enlightenment and the spirits’ beneficence. The bowl itself alludes to the dried gourds used in Luba divination. Stylistically, this figure belongs to a small group of works that have been attributed to an artist or workshop on the eastern edges of Lubaland, in a region populated by the related Hemba people. For more information, see especially Mary Nooter Roberts and Allen F. Roberts, Luba. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2007. C.P. FIG. 32: Female figure. Undetermined ethnic origin (possibly Beembe, Teke, or Kongo people), probably Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, glass, resin, pigment, animal claw. H: 60.5 cm. Ex: Joseph Brummer, Paris, before 1913; Charles Vignier, Paris, 1913–1919/21. Exhibited in the De Zayas Gallery in New York in 1919. Purchased from Charles Vignier, Paris, 1921 (AF 5119). Image courtesy of the Penn Museum, image #175174. Though this sculpture most probably stems from an artist or his workshop situated somewhere in the southwestern part of Congo or adjacent contemporary countries, its exact ethnic attribution remains to be confirmed. It does bear stylistic features that could point to a Beembe or Teke origin, while certain facial traits are more generally Kongo in style (perhaps specifically Dondo or Kamba, as suggested by Bruno Claessens in a personal communication to Yaëlle Biro). Still other anatomical details recall certain Yaka works. Functionally, however, there is no doubt that the sculpture pertains to the widespread category of “power figures,” the neologism used to identify objects with magical qualities for protective/curative or aggressive/destructive purposes locally commonly known as minkisi (sing. nkisi). What identifies this figure as such is the packet of medicines attached to its head. For more information, see especially Marc Leo Felix, et al., Art & Kongos. Brussels: Zaïre Basin Art History Research Center, 1995; and Raoul Lehuard and Alain Lecomte, Babembe Sculpture. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2010. C.P.
I-IVCoverT68 E_CoverF Vuvi
To see the actual publication please follow the link above