Standing male figure "mukuya", before 1905 · D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3041476

Name: Standing male figure "mukuya", before 1905
SKU: 3041476
Price: 2000 EUR
Availability: SoldOut

sold EUR 2,000

Provenance

Collected by Teofil Ceder, Svensk Afrika Mission (before 1905)

Size

H: 22 cm

H: 8.7 inch

Description

wood, middle brown patina, black paint, eyes with white porcweelain inlay, characteristic elongated trunk, richly adorned with skin scarifications in relief, holding a rifle and a knife in his hands, opening (crypto fetish), min. dam., fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
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 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.

The object Standing male figure “mukuya”, before 1905 with the object ID 3041476 was last part of the auction 84th Tribal Art Auction at November 5, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 376 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.

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