Standing power figure "biteki" ·  D. R. Congo, Teke · ID: 3035372

Description

wood, partly shiny brown patina, rectangular cavity with remains of magical substances, the face coated with striated scarification marks, tribe-typical headgear, min. dam., missing parts (foot tips), traces of insect caused damage, socle;
such protective and magical figures are used as a prophylaxis against sleeping sickness and other illnesses. In some examples the medicine package “bilongo” is missing. Such packages are often scraped out by the “nganga”, little by little, and sold as healing or protective dust. The “biteki” are figures supposed to act magically, opposed to the “buti”, the ancestor figures.

The object Standing power figure “biteki” with the object ID 3035372 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 409.

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