Small standing male figure ·  D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3034648

Description

wood, brown patina, blackened in parts, eyes with porcelain inlay, min. dam., missing parts (neck plait), crack backside, acrylic socle;
the opening on the back was used by the “nganga” to give vital force to the figure, afterwards it was filled with magical material: “bilongo” (medicine) or relics of an ancestor (hair, pieces of finger nails or bones) as a symbol of the power and spirit of the deceased relative. Afterwards the opening was closed by a piece of fabric or a plug. As long as the spirit stayed within the statue, it watched over his descendants and punished contempts against customs and rules. Belonging to the so-called “crypto-power figures”, a terminology introduced by William Fagg.

The object Small standing male figure with the object ID 3034648 was last part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction at May 25, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 356 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,000.

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