Pair of ancestor figures "mukuya" ·  D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3033958

Description

wood, honey brown patina, dark brown paint, eyes with white porcelain inlay, unusual: standing side by side embracing each other, the elongated trunks richly decorated with scarification marks, small openings backside (“crypto fetish”), slightly dam., minor missing parts (left ear of the male figure, backside of the base), paint rubbed off, crack;
according to Lehuard the tattoos mark the identity of the depicted person as well as her social rank. The term “crypto-power figures” was introduced by William Fagg. The cavity served for insertion of magical loading by the “nganga”, the sorcerer.