Sitting female bowl bearing figure "mboko"
D. R. Congo, Luba
sold
EUR 5,000
Provenance
Alain Guisson / Yannick Van Ruysevelt, Brussels, Belgium (2008)Size
L: 41 cm
L: 16.1 inch
Description
Luba bowl figures commemorate the first mythical Luba diviner, “Mijbu wa Kalenga”, and were primarily the preserve of royal diviners “bilumbu”, who used them as oracles.
The female figure can track down malevolent forces and act as a spy in the service of the diviner. Such figures are also reputed to have curative capacities.
Chalk in the bowl is used to paint the diviner’s face as a sign of grace and spiritual enlightenment.
Comparing literature
Roberts, Mary Nooter, Memory, New York 1996, p. 200Publications
Expo.cat.: "BRUNEAF, Brussels Non European Art Fair XVIII", Brussels 2008, 67AHDRC: 0029919