Female power figure "kaponya" or "hamba" · Angola, Chokwe / Lwena (Luena) · ID: 3047219
sold
EUR 4,000
Provenance
Arthur Speyer (1894-1958), Berlin, GermanyDiebold, Strasbourg, France
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 23. September 2006, Lot 306
Size
H: 30,5 cm
H: 12.0 inch
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.
Comparing literature
Petridis, Constantine, Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Brussels 2008, p. 102