wood height 17 1/2in (44cm) Provenance Francis Réveilland Collection Belgian Private Collection Christopher Roy notes on a similar female figure in the Stanley Collection, ( Art and Life in Africa - Selections from the Stanley Collection , The University of Iowa Museum of Art, 1985, p. 146), 'Experts on the art of the area have attributed this figure to the northern Kuba of the Sankuru River area, and, more specifically, to the Shoowa. The hairstyle is certainly quite typical of the "Kuba" groups in the confluence area of the Kasai and Sankuru Rivers. Emil Torday describes the hairdressing of the ruling hierarchy of the Kuba: "The men shave the whole head, keeping on the top of the skull only a small tuft of hair just large enough to be hidden by the headdress; the temples and forehead are carefully shaved, but the line of implantation of the hair can nevertheless be distinguished and this line is indicated on the dolls and on the carvings . . . " (Torday, Notes ethnographiques surles peuplades apparentées appeles akubba ainsi que sur les peuplades apparentées les Bushong , Brussels: Ministère des Colonies, 1910: 49,169) The Kuba tradition of carving "portraits" of Nyim , or kings, has been very well documented by Jan Vansina, Joseph Cornet, and others. Far less is known about female figures, however.
wood height 17 1/2in (44cm) Provenance Francis Réveilland Collection Belgian Private Collection Christopher Roy notes on a similar female figure in the Stanley Collection, ( Art and Life in Africa - Selections from the Stanley Collection , The University of Iowa Museum of Art, 1985, p. 146), 'Experts on the art of the area have attributed this figure to the northern Kuba of the Sankuru River area, and, more specifically, to the Shoowa. The hairstyle is certainly quite typical of the "Kuba" groups in the confluence area of the Kasai and Sankuru Rivers. Emil Torday describes the hairdressing of the ruling hierarchy of the Kuba: "The men shave the whole head, keeping on the top of the skull only a small tuft of hair just large enough to be hidden by the headdress; the temples and forehead are carefully shaved, but the line of implantation of the hair can nevertheless be distinguished and this line is indicated on the dolls and on the carvings . . . " (Torday, Notes ethnographiques surles peuplades apparentées appeles akubba ainsi que sur les peuplades apparentées les Bushong , Brussels: Ministère des Colonies, 1910: 49,169) The Kuba tradition of carving "portraits" of Nyim , or kings, has been very well documented by Jan Vansina, Joseph Cornet, and others. Far less is known about female figures, however.
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
