Anthropomorphic figure "iginga" (pl. "maginga") ·  D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3048566

Description

ivory, base

The social and spiritual life of the Lega is governed by the “bwami” society. Within the association there are five initiation levels, or societies, which every man must pass through in order to be considered a fully initiated member of the community in the teachings and traditions of the people.

Each initiation society has its own objects and sculptures “isengo” (pl. “masengo”) that serve to convey the teachings and moral concepts of “bwami”.

These include the small “iginga” ivory figurines. They are owned by the highest initiation level of the “bwami”, the “kindi” society, and belong to members of “lutumbo lwa kindi”.

The object Anthropomorphic figure “iginga” (pl. “maginga”) with the object ID 3048566 was part of the auction 97th Auction on November 6, 2021. The object with the lot number 318 achieved a sales price of EUR 5,500 with an asking price of EUR 4,000.

You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Felix, Marc L. (ed.), White gold, black hands, Vol. 6, Brussels 2013, p. 194, fig. 34 f.

Notices

This object is subject to CITES. Please note that it can only be sent within the European Union. At the present time export in third countries is prohibited, respectively, export licenses in third countries for objects containing or made of protected materials are only granted under stringent conditions.