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BaKongo staff SOLD

A fine Bakongo Yombe staff with a yellow honey patina.

Height: 100 cm. The figure on top measures 12 cm.

Price: sold

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Provenance: My mother collection. She sold it to a friend of her around 1970.

The Kongo inhabit the Lower Zaïre area between the Atlantic coast and Malebo Pool. This region, which once constituted the historic kingdom of Kongo, is at present part of Angola (with the Cabinda enclave), the Congo and Zaïre.

The European presence in the region, from the fifteenth century onwards, led to the conversion of the Kongo court and the establishment of catholicism as the state religion. However, traditional rituals and religious institutions were not entirely supplanted; rather, Western elements were selectively integrated into existing traditions. During the colonial period, concerted efforts by missionaries and authorities led to the suppression but not to the disuse of minkisi (figurines and objects invested with special powers). The Kongo continue, unobtrusively, to resort to them. Their spectacular rituals and dramatic enactments, however, are events of the past.

Within African art, Kongo art is known for its realism, characterized by a lifelike rendering of the human face. Western elements have been integrated into some statues. This European influence was most apparent in the region from 1860 onwards.

Myths about the foundation of the Kongo peoples state that nine staffs (mvwala or nti amfumu) belonging to the nine original clans were needed to help rule. Such staffs were seen as instruments of power, symbolizing the chief's crucial role in communicating between the world of the living and that of the dead. The staffs also illustrate the Kongo people's views on power, and highlight the importance of women and fertility. Some staffs depict a woman as the founder or ancestral mother of the clan; a child on her lap or at her breast representing the clan as a unified entity. Geometric patterns on the shaft of the staff are more than decorations: they contain coded messages about relations between the living and the dead.

This Kongo staff is SOLD

This BaKongo staff from a known collection is  guaranteed genuine and at least 50 years old. You will get free delivery and a complete description by David Norden. Add it to your collection and get compliments from your friends.

Add to Cart - request of availability                     Thanks,  David Norden
        

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Tel +32 3 227.35.40 : Click to email David Norden. St.Katelijnevest 27. B2000 Antwerpen. Belgium.