Grande figure d'ancêtre d'un chef de tribu "singiti" ·  R. D. Congo, Hemba, Style Nkuvu · ID: 3045632

Description

wood, fabric, sacrificial traces, base

The main accent of this figure lies on the big head with its beautiful clear-cut and even, almost Cubist-looking facial features. For the head, as the source of wisdom, was of paramount importance to the Hemba, as was the navel, which was considered to be the point of connection with the ancestors.

These figures were commissioned by senior chiefs to show their connection to the common ancestral history.

But not every Hemba chief was honored with such a depiction. Such commissions were divinely sanctioned when a sitting chief was visited in a dream by one of his predecessors and this was interpreted as a sign that a “singiti” figure should be carved in that individual’s honor.

Like many of the famous ancestral figures of the Hemba, these royal figures are understood as a symbol of classical African art.

L’objet Grande figure d’ancêtre d’un chef de tribu “singiti” avec l’ID d’objet 3045632 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 92e vente aux enchères Tribal Art dans 29 juin 2019 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 108 a atteint un prix de vente de 8 500 €.

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

Neyt, Francois, La Grande Statuaire Hemba du Zaire, Louvain-la-Neuve 1977, p. 240

Publications

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrika, Maske und Skulptur, Olten 1989, ill. 99