Auction 104 After sale
Zemanek-Münster

Janusheaded ritual implement

D. R. Congo, Basikasingo
sold EUR 1,600
Provenance
Edi Remondino, Bajumbura, Burundi
Toni Dähler, Basel, Switzerland
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Size
H: 26 cm
H: 10.2 inch

Description

wood, red pigment, kaolin, sacrificial traces, a long conical neck carved with two identical bearded faces, face halves dyed in different colours, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
the sculpture presumably represents “kalunga”, one of the aquatic spirits “miha”. The creation of such a figure was ordered by the soothsayer in order to counteract misfortune, which the spirit might inflict on the people. “Miha” received ritual chicken sacrifices to keep him well-disposed.


Comparing literature

Biebuyck, Daniel P., Statuary from the pre-Bembe hunters, Tervuren 1981, p. 153, ill. 42

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