| Mbole or Yela ofika figure |
| Mbole or Yela ofika figure 17" 3/4 x 4" x 4" Acquired from: Marc Assayag with Tookalook Native Arts THIS FIGURE IS NO LONGER IN MY COLLECTION The Yela people live to the south of the Mbole. They also produce figures which are strongly influenced by the Mbole, but have rounder heads. These figures are carved for the same purpose that the Mbole figures are carved. They are often times just grouped into the classification of "Mbole" because the Mbole are a more widely recognized culture among collectors. I've been intrigued by Mbole figures ever since I first laid eyes on one in the book The Tribal Arts of Africa (shown directly below the photos of my figure). The figure in that book captivated me, and I have been looking for an Mbole ofika figure ever since. I've looked at many figures since then, and early on I purchased a figure I found interesting that I eventually sold, but I never found one that possessed the qualities that captivated me like that first figure until I came across this one. The style of this figure is exceptional in my opinion, and I love the placement of the hands and the carving of the head. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is that this figure doesn't have the darkened surface that you normally see on these figures, but it does have the heart shaped white face and I think the figure is an excellent representation of these wonderful figures. For one of the most comprehensive articles on the Mbole and Yela people, I recommend "African Arts", October 1976 Volume X Number 1 "SCULPTURE FROM THE EASTERN ZAIRE FOREST REGIONS: LENGOLA, MITOKO, MBOLE, YELA AND PERE" by D. Biebuyck ____________________________________ My favorite interpetation of these figures is below: "The artworks of the Mbole, who live along the Ijomami River, are principally related to the activities of a pervasive and complex secret society known as lilwa. Although the exact role of the figures remains to be fully documented, it is clear that they evidence the juridical role of lilwa and represent those condemned to death by hanging. Their characteristic form with shoulders and arms hunched forward, in some examples with the feet pointing downwards, suggests a suspended posture. To that extent they are unique within the artistic canons of Africa, if we exclude the specifically Christian imagery developed in some places. Death by hanging was the punishment for a variety of serious transgressions ranging from adultery to sorcery or murder, and was a dramatic public event. Normally the victims were men, though this is one of the rarer examples showing a woman. The condemned had a length of liana placed around the neck, and this in its turn was attached to a springy, bent tree. Once the tree was released, the condemned person's body was catapulted into the air. The sanction represented by this form of execution is emphasized by the hanging figures which are guarded by the same high-ranking initiate who acts as judge in cases which carry this punishment. The figures themselves bear the names of victims. The figures are kept secretly. Initiates encounter them, often mounted on a litter, on a number of occasions during and after their initiation. Their first sighting occurs at the start of the initiation process when they are beaten with sticks and confronted with the images. Later they learn the circumstances in which the deceased came to be condemned and the figures act as a powerful warning against the transgression of social rules. Where an initiate's behaviour comes into question oaths may be sworn on the figures. " Source - John Mack - AFRICA The Art of a Continent Bibliography: Biebuyck, 1976 Click on any image below to see larger version |
| Examples below are not in my collection - they are for reference purposes only The first 2 figures are my favorite ones |
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| Mbole ofika figure published in the book The Tribal Arts of Africa. 18 7/8" tall, wood and pigment, private collection This is the figure that I fell in love with when I first laid eyes on it. The face on this figure is so solemn and I love the intricate details in the carving of the body, it's a fantastic and wonderful figure. |
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| A really incredible Mbole figure in my opinion! I love it. Sotheby's New York - Sale 7473 - May 19, 2000 The Baudouin de Grunne Collection of African Art LOT 37 A fine and rare Mbole figure height 17in. (43.2cm.) of abstract form, with wedge-shaped feet beneath attenuated bent legs and rounded hips leading to a tapering triangular torso, the cutaway arms carved in arching form with wedge-shaped hands resting on the hips, and supporting the head with concave heart-shaped face, slit upturned mouth, and faceted triangular nose leading to arching brows beneath the domed forehead, and wearing a bi-ridged transverse coiffure; fine dark brown patina with traces of kaolin and mustard pigments, collection reference no. 3. Provenance: Acquired from Philippe Guimiot, Brussels, 1974 Published: de Grunne and Thompson, Rediscovered Masterpieces of African Art, 1987:figure 240 Guimiot, Regard Sur une Collection, 1995:figure 43 Estimate 50,000—70,000 USD Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 104,250 USD This figure is an exceptional example of a 'hanging figure', carved for a high ranking member of the Lilwa association of the Mbole. As Biebuyck (in Tervuren 1995:382) states the Lilwa has a number of ritual, structural and organizational features in common with the Bwami association of the Lega. However, the art produced for the Lilwa is much rarer. The figurines are shown and interpreted only in rites of passage and in crisis situations. 'The Lilwa perform ritual, educational, journal, social, political and economic functions forming a sophisticated moral philosophy underlying the rites.' The 'hanging' statues of the Mbole, ofika, may represent persons who were hanged for transgressing against the laws of Lilwa and the public order. This figure would probably have had a number of decorative attachments to the headdress at the top. The great age of this figure is evident in the dense wood and the integration of the pigments into the surface. |
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| Mbole ofika figure from the book: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection "Masterpieces of Primitive Art" |
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| From the book: Masterpieces from Central Africa - from the Tervuren Museum Ofika figure Mbole. Upper Zaire Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stoclet; registered in 1945 RG 40633. H. 92 cm. Wood (Comm/phorasp.), pigments This male figurine with bent back and slender, dangling legs gives the impression of a body collapsed by hanging (this was also suggested by a rope fixed around the neck of the figurine). The sculpture was attributed to the Mbole of the Opala and Isangi zones. The concave, heart-shaped face, slender legs and arms with finger and toe indications, and overall rigidity concur with stylistic traits found in some Lega wooden sculptures. The distorted, forward-thrusting arms are found in some ancestral figurines of groups incorporated among the Bembe. This unique type of carving belongs to high-ranking members of the Lilwa association among the Mbole. This graded association has numerous organizational, ritual, and structural features in common with the Bwami association of the Lega, but the initiation system is simpler, and there is no such abundance of artworks as is found at certain levels of Bwami. In fact, the major sculpted objects known from the Mbole are masks and the type of figurine illustrated here. Like the Bukota and Bwami associations among the Metoko, Lengola, Lega, and Bembe. the Lilwa performs ritual, educational, jural, social, political, and economic functions; a so phisticated moral philosophy underlies the riles. These conventionalized polychrome statues(ofika) represent persons who were hanged far transgressing against the laws of Lilwa and the public order; they may also portray sacrificial victims. Furthermore, they have some reference to a pre-burial custom applied to high-ranking Lilwa members, whose bodies are suspended from poles in their houses to collect fluids that are then used in the ritual aspersions of their successors (a method of transmitting vital force from one person to another). The figurines are shown and interpreted only in rites of passage and in certain crisis situations (for example, bad hunting, conflicts between social groups, and oath-taking). D.P.B. |
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| Mbole ofika figure in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York FIGURE [90.0/ 5228] AFRICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION Culture: MBOLE? Locale: KASAI, NEAR KISANGANI?, STANLEYVILLE? Country: CONGO FREESTATE Material: WOOD,PIGMENT,STAIN Dimensions: L:80.2 W:15 [in CM] Donor: BELGIAN GOVERNMENT Acquisition Year: 1907 Exhibition History: ART/ARTIFACT (CENTER FOR AFRICAN ART , NEW YORK, NY, 1988) |
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| Mbole ofika figure in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York Culture: MBOLE? Locale: EASTERN PROVINCE?, KASAI Country: CONGO FREESTATE Material: WOOD,PLANT FIBER,CORD,DYE,PIGMENT,STAIN Dimensions: L:78.9 W:18.7 [in CM] Donor: BELGIAN GOVERNMENT Acquisition Year: 1907 Published in: ART/ARTIFACT. ( EXHIBITION CATALOG, 1988, Publisher: THE CENTER FOR AFRICAN ART) Exhibition History: ART/ARTIFACT (CENTER FOR AFRICAN ART , NEW YORK, NY, 1988) The same figure appeared in the book "African Art in American Collections" and that is the photo on the right. It has a fiber skirt in that book. |
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| From the book "African Art in American Collections" Figure/Wood, pigment 40 in. (101.6 cm) Marc and Denyse Ginzberg |
| From the book "African Art in American Collections" Figure/Wood, pigment, metal 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm) Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, Gift of Wellcome Trust |
| From the interview with Armand Arman by Alan Nichols where he talks about his Mbole figure (I don't have a picture of it though): Armand Arman: Next, there have been objects that I've simply fallen for: certain objects that I've desired, or others considered as extremely rare, like the Mbole. I've always dreamed of having an Mbole. When I was younger, objects circulated less. There have been mythic objects like, for instance, the Mbole in the Schindler Collection. Me, I have a small one. |
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| Sotheby's Paris - April 2003 LOT 171 Statuette d'homme, Mbole, République Démocratique du Congo Estimate 7,000—10,000 EUR Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 7,200 EUR No provenance or collection history listed |
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| Sotheby's NY - November 2002 LOT 130 AN MBOLE MALE FIGURE Estimate 5,000—7,000 USD Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 4,481 USD MEASUREMENTS height 11in. 27.9cm DESCRIPTION standing on thick legs, tapering to a torso with arms akimbo, the wide head with heart-shaped facial plane and abbreviated features; dark brown patina with areas of white pigment; '1342' in white pigment at the reverse. Provenance: Willy Mestdagh, Brussels Harvey Menist, Amsterdam Exhibited: New York, The Museum of Primitive Art, African Tribal Sculpture from the Collection of Ernst and Ruth Anspach, November 1967-February 1968, number 106 |
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| Hanging figure Mbole Zaire wood h. 69.5 cm In the collection of the Museum of Ethnography, Antwerp, AE673 |
