Cross-legged male ancestor figure ·  R. D. Congo, Bakongo · ID: 3039537

Description

wood, matt reddish brown patina, glazed eyes with painted pupils, carved with a titled cap “mpu”, the bangle worn around the wrist denoting social status, old collection label “436” backside, slightly dam., minor missing parts (foot tips), fine cracks (right lower leg), abrasion of paint, base;
the figure was probably a portrait reliquary of an important departed or used in the veneration of ancestral spirits,

Littérature comparée

Felix, Marc L. (ed.), Kongo Kingdom Art, China 2003, p. 292, ill. 8,24