128
Some of the fi gure’s original accessories have
been preserved, and the work also bears a striking
“resinous blackened patina,” as indicated by
the authors of the 2004 Sotheby’s auction catalog.
However, Olbrechts’ detailed sketch and description
inform us that other aspects of the work’s appearance
have changed since its inclusion in the
1937–38 exhibition (fi g. 23). The belts made of
reptile skin that were hanging under the fi gure’s
breasts and around its waist are now gone. These
can still be seen on many Songye power fi gures in
collections worldwide. Most striking, however, is
that the fi gure now has a horn stuck into the top
of its head. It was absent in 1937–38, a point that
Olbrechts explicitly noted in his description. This
explains the difference in measurements between
then and now: 49 cm versus 59.5 cm. It is possible
that the horn existed at that time but was for
some reason not included in the loan and presentation
of the work in the 1937–38 exhibition, and
thus does not appear in Olbrechts’ sketch, but this
cannot be confi rmed. Obviously it is also possible
that it represents a later addition, meant to reconstitute
what is reasonable to believe to have been
the sculpture’s original look, thus completing the
work’s intended visual presence and impact.
From Dunja Hersak’s research in the late
1970s, we know that the external appearance of
a Songye power fi gure, which is locally referred
to in general terms as nkishi, is perhaps as important
as its interior contents (e.g.,
Hersak 2010, 2013). The magically
charged reptile belts, whether made
from snake or lizard skin, that were
originally wrapped around the fi gure’s
torso and waist were meant
to protect the inner body essence
and also served to signal the work’s
status and authority. Remains of fi -
ber cord around the upper arms of
this fi gure probably indicate how
the fi gure was once handled by its
guardian. This cord would have
been used to attach long wooden
poles to its arms, which would have
been used to manipulate it. What
distinguishes this particular Songye
power fi gure from the vast majority
of the genre preserved in collections
around the world is its female
Luba examples portray a female, the few known
Songye representations depict a male. Interestingly,
Olbrechts attributed the sculpture to a
Luba carver, albeit tentatively. A better-known
example in a private collection is illustrated in
François Neyt’s 2004 Songye: The Formidable
Statuary of Central Africa (124, no. 89) and is,
aesthetically speaking, arguably more accomplished
than the present sculpture. Pierre Petit
(1995: 122, fi g. 8) illustrates another example in
the collection of the Musée Royal de l’Afrique
Centrale in Tervuren, and in the same essay, he
indicates there are at least fi ve more held in the
museum’s storage (1995: 130, note 16). There
are also a handful of double bowl-bearing images
in this Songye style. In the latter, two fi gures
face each other, holding the bowl between them.
What all these sculptures have in common is the
position of their outstretched legs with feet fl at
against the bowl, which characteristically has
a fl ared cylindrical shape and is proportionally
much larger than the bowl held by the average
Luba-style example.
The fi nal work to illustrate this article is an intermediate
size female Songye power fi gure now
in a private collection in Antwerp (fi g. 22). When
Brussels-based art dealer Bernard de Grunne sold
this striking sculpture to its current owner, he had
recovered the provenance of the work and determined
that while it was in the possession of Willy
Claes in Antwerp in the late 1930s it
was been included in Kongo-kunst. It
is listed as no. 835 in the exhibition’s
catalog.6 But when de Grunne purchased
the work at a Sotheby’s auction
in New York on 11 November
2004 (lot 121), no mention of this
early provenance was made. What the
Sotheby’s collection history stated was
that it came from the Rosenberg Collection
in New York and that Jack and
Deborah Rosenberg had themselves
purchased it from J. J. Klejman in New
York in June of 1973. However, thanks
to de Grunne’s research, we now also
know that a year earlier Klejman had
in turn purchased it from Brusselsbased
dealer Emile Deletaille, who had
most likely obtained the sculpture from
Claes or his family or heirs.7
FIG. 17 (above):
Inscription “668./HE.24.”
on the bottom of the
ex-Heenen Songye bowlbearing
fi gure.
Photo: © Sotheby’s.
FIG. 18 (below):
Sketch by Frans M.
Olbrechts of the ex-Heenen
Songye bowl-bearing
fi gure.
MAS | Museum aan de Stroom,
Antwerp.
© Collectiebeleid Musea en Erfgoed,
Antwerp.
FEATURE