H x W x D: 23.5 x 3.8 x 3.2 cm (9 1/4 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
In the 19th century, prior to the colonization of the Congo by the Belgians, the Lega peoples had no centralized political system. They were governed by Bwami, a graded association open to all men and women in a given village. Bwami was both a political and an educational system by which esteemed Lega values were taught: moderation, nonviolence, solidarity, respect, constraint and moral as well as physical beauty. It was also a framework for political relationships, a means of establishing cross-kinship and cross-village solidarities and a source of entertainment. Above all, Bwami was a channel for prestige and the sole motivation for the visual arts.
This small ivory figure features a human head atop a carved spiral peg and would have been owned by an initiate of the highest level of Bwami: kindi. Figurines such as this could encompass any number of didactic meanings and both positive and negative characters. However, field research on individual pieces is extremely rare, so it is almost impossible to hazard a guess as to its specific function outside of its use to exemplify the Bwami moral code.
Lega sculptures are rare because the Bwami society was outlawed in 1948, owing to the Belgian colonial government's misunderstanding of its beliefs and aspirations.
Description:
Small ivory spiral-carved peg-shaped figure surmounted by a human head. The head has coffee bean eyes, no mouth and simply-rendered nose.
Provenance:
J. J. Klejman, New York, -- to mid-1960s
Evelyn A. J. Hall and John A. Friede, New York, mid-1960s to 1985
Published References:
Felix, Marc Leo (ed). 2013. White Gold, Black Hands: Ivory Sculpture in Congo, Vol 6. Qiquhar, Heilungkiang, The People's Republic of China: Gemini Sun, pp. 38-39, no. A113.
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