Female power figure "kaponya" or "hamba" · Angola, Chokwe / Lwena (Luena) · ID: 3047219
Diebold, Strasbourg, France
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 23. September 2006, Lot 306
Description
wood, old collection label “3503”, base
According to Bastin, the term “kaponya” (pl. “tuponya”) is the generic name for a figurative sculpture. In order to become a “hamba”, a figure has to be consecrated by a ritual specialist or healer “mbuki”.
The term “hamba” in its primary interpretation refers to ancestor and nature spirits, sometimes called tutelary spirits, that mediate between God (“kalunga” or “nzambi”) and man.
Most “mahamba” (pl.) serve to protect hunters and assist with childbirth, essential responsibilities for men and women, respectively, and crucial for the survival of the group.
The object Female power figure “kaponya” or “hamba” with the object ID 3047219 was last part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction at October 24, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 311 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,000.
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Comparing literature
Petridis, Constantine, Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Brussels 2008, p. 102