Kneeling female memorial figure
D. R. Congo, Yombe
not available anymore
Provenance
Colonial Collection, Liège, BelgiumPaul Gilman, Liège, Belgium
Alain Guisson, Brussels, Belgium (1990)
Robert Lewitzki, Celle, Germany
Size
H: 50,5 cm
H: 19.9 inch
Description
light wood, paint, rest.
These realistic representations are memorial figures intended to commemorate particularly deserving deceased persons, without aiming at portrait resemblance.
Kecskési reports that they were kept in the house of the head of the family, while comparable figures of the dead painted with white kaolin were placed on gravesites under a shelter.
In the publication “Kongo Kingdom Art” by Marc Leo Felix, whitened figures of the dead are photographically documented (Felix, 2003, p. 278, ill. 8,13). According to him, the figures were first placed over the graves and after the decay of the grave houses, they were brought into the family home.
Comparing literature
Kecskési, Maria, Kunst aus Afrika, München, London, New York 1999, p. 28 Felix, Marc L. (ed.), Kongo Kingdom Art, China 2003, p. 278 f.Publications
Expo cat.: "Afrikanische Kunst, Sammlung Robert Lewitzki", Bomann-Museum (Hg.), Celle 2012, p. 23AHDRC: 0017881