Bakongo Sundi with a basket
A
Bakongo/Sundi figure statue
D.R.C. lower Congo Kwango river Bassin
Wood, pigments; H.
56 cm
Sundi funeral statue.
Provenance: Carlo Bold
price: sold
This large Sundi figure from the Bakongo was used as ancestor figure for funerals.
This sundi has a basket in here back that she holds in a traditional way.
The style of the Sundi subgroup is usually softer than the Bakongo traits, and it is much more likely that this piece is of slightly later manufacture.
Made in soft wood, this lady wears a basket in the back hold by a string in the Hair. Also here breast are pushed down for aesthetic reasons.
There is a crack in the wood at the back on the shoulder and part of the base is missing. This object bears a fine, dry and worn patina. The sculpture is noteworthy in that it displays an overall balance between the basket in the back and the extended arm holding it in the back of here hair.
This Sundi sculpture personifies womanhood, represented is a recently dead matron. The typically recarved teeth accentuate the Beauty, Serenity and Dignity in the sculptured image of the female. Her breasts are powerfully emphasized. The mother's eyes half closed aimed directly forward to life.
bibliography:
Robbins,
Warren M.: African
Art in American Collections
/L'Art Africain dans les collections americaines, New York: Preager, 1966,
fig.247, illus.
Send an email to David Norden if you are interested in this Sundi and want to stay informed if similar items are available
+32
3 227.35.40, 