Crypto fetish figure "phuungu" · D. R. Congo, Yaka / Suku · ID: 3053549
Starting price
EUR 15,000
Estimated price
EUR 20,000
Provenance
Edmond Morlet, Brussels, BelgiumKarl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany
Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, Germany, 8 November 1980, lot 126
Arno Henseler, Munich, Germany
Size
H: 40 cm
H: 15.7 inch
Description
wood, miniature beads, metal nails, cloth, feathers, a recess on the underside, sealed with a wooden plug, presumably to hold medicine in place
This figure carries its magic charge with feather remnants at arm level and thus belongs to the “phuungu” figure type.
Its primary function is to protect against witches and other enemies and for this reason it is often positioned on the wall or near the roof supports in the interior of a dwelling.
Publications
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, Munich 2009, p. 565
AHDRC: 0015794