Figure debout "katanda" · R. D. Congo, Lega · ID: 3042137
Bernhard Jäger, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
Description
wood, brown patina, dark paint remains, arm stretched upward, a neckless, elongated head inbetween, body covered by circular drillings, min. dam., small missing parts, traces of abrasion;
used in high-level initiation ceremonies of the “bwami” society to teach a highly developed code of ethics and morals that formed the base of Lega social order.
“Katanda” means “Mr. Mat” and represents a woven mat, used primarily as a bed. Good sleeping mats are clean and intact, so the holes in this particular figure alert us to a problem. The holes made by army ants imply that the owner war lazy and sleeping when or where he should not have been. The message the figure gives is negative and warns against evil, laziness and loose morals.
L’objet Figure debout “katanda” avec l’ID d’objet 3042137 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 86e vente aux enchères Tribal Art dans 27 mai 2017 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 146 a atteint un prix de vente de 2 500 €.
Vous trouverez d’autres Figures et autres types d’objets populaires sur nos pages thématiques associées. Notre page sur le thème Art africain pourrait également vous intéresser.
Littérature comparée
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 283, ill. 150
Publications
AHDRC: 0142032