Kongo ing elements of such initiation beds depict the individual undergoing transformation, her body anointed with red paste composed of pounded bark, a substance associated with mediation (fi g. 29). Female representations were also central to the sculptural structure positioned above the burial site of a Kongo leader. Covered with white kaolin, or mpemba, to underscore the state of transition to the ancestral realm, a sculptural depiction of the deceased was fl anked by one or more female fi gures. Their presence underscored the role infl uential ancestors might play in answering prayers directed to them for new life (fi g. 30). The quintessential dynamic of mother and child was interpreted in endlessly different ways. Majestic female fi gures framed with attributes of leadership hold forth miniature fi gures that are not literal depictions of infants. Never merely biological mothers, extraordinary women are portrayed seated on a dais and crowned with an mpu cap of leadership (fi g. 31). The state of cultivated perfection they embody is underscored through the emphasis of their body as a canvas for elaborate decorative arrays of cicatrization inscribed across the back, shoulders, and chest. In some examples, a regal FIG. 21 (middle left): Master of Kasadi Workshop, staff with fi nial with Kneeling Female Figure. Kongo peoples; Yombe group, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; or Cabinda, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. Wood, iron, metal strips. H: 142.1 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1968 (1978.412.570). FIG. 22 (near left): Master of the Boma Vonde region, Lemba staff fi nial with female fi gure nursing child. Kongo peoples; Yombe group, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; or Cabinda, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. Wood. H: 69.5 cm. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris (70.2003.3.9). FIG. 23 (near right, top): Master of Makaya Vista, staff fi nial with kneeling female fi gure. Kongo peoples; Woyo group, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; or Cabinda, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. Ivory. H: 13.7 cm. Private collection. FIG. 25 (center): Prestige staff of Henrique III. Kongo peoples; Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of the Congo; or Cabinda, Angola. C. 1842–57. Wood, metal. H: 112 cm. Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Lisbon (AA 669). FIG. 26 (below): Photographer unknown, Portrait of Chief Nemlão with Woman and Children. Banana region, Democratic Republic of the Congo. C. 1890. Postcard, c. 1900. 13.7 × 8.6 cm. Holly W. Ross Postcard Collection, Princeton. FIG. 24 (near right, bottom): Staff fi nial with kneeling female with clasped hands. Kongo peoples; Banana region, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 19th century (documented c. 1891). Ivory. H: 16.3 cm. Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich; Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection (UEA252).
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