| Kongo, Yombe or Vili seated figure |
| Measures 8" 1/2 x 3" 1/2 x 3" 1/4 Wood, pigment, glass beaded eyes Provenance: Marc Assayag with Tookalook Native Arts Private collection, Canada |
| Verly (1955) described this gesture of hand supporting the head as symbolizing deep thought. The Kongo people themselves associate this posture with circumspection, or a sign of one who reflects before speaking. The gesture also symbolizes an ideal chief--he considers a question, evaluates the elements and abstains from all comment before making a decision. Only after considerable thought does he speak (Falgayrettes-Leveau and Thompson 2002: 92). Sources: A History of Art in Africa / Africa - The Art of a Continent / The Tribal Art of Africa / The Dance, Art and Ritual of Africa Additional information coming soon... |
| Example of different style, not meant for comparison purposes but just for visual reference. |
| An example of the type of hat, called "mpu", that is seen in the figure to the left. This hat is in the collection of the Museum Kennis |
| Sotheby's LOT 89 - SALE N07902 - SESSION 1 - 15 May 03 10:15 AM A SUPERB YOMBE SEATED MALE FIGURE Estimate 60,000—90,000 USD Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 72,000 USD MEASUREMENTS height 12 5/8in. 32.1cm DESCRIPTION the square base incised with cross-hatched motif around the perimeter, supporting the dignitary with crossed legs wearing anklets, the barrel- like torso decorated with raised scarification at the back, the left arm resting on the leg, and the right bent, wearing a bracelet and supporting the strong, jutting chin, the mouth with full lips pierced at the center and framed by piercing eyes painted white with black pupils overlaid with glass beneath finely carved brows, the naturalistic ears adorned with metal and ivory rings, the close-cropped coiffure surmounted by a toque decorated with diagonal and cross-hatched incisions; fine aged honey brown surface with areas of blackening. Provenance: Jernander Collection, Brussels de Quay and Lombrail, Paris, June 26, 1996, lot 8 Published: Cornet 1989: 328 This classical seated Yombe figure with head resting upon the hand has been compared to Kongo funerary sculpture in the same posture in stone, mintadi (plur.). Verly (1955) described this gesture of hand supporting the head as symbolizing deep thought. The Kongo people themselves associate this posture with circumspection, or a sign of one who reflects before speaking. The gesture also symbolizes an ideal chief--he considers a question, evaluates the elements and abstains from all comment before making a decision. Only after considerable thought does he speak (Falgayrettes-Leveau and Thompson 2002: 92). The offered lot, a highly refined and elegant figure of a chief, or high-ranking Yombe figure is one of the most magnificent examples of carving from a distinctive atelier. Compare with four other figures from the same atelier in the collection of the Musée Royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, collected before 1914. Lehuard (1989: 482-483, nos. 24660 and 24659). For three other closely related seated figures, one now in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and two others in private collections, see the Van Rijn Archive (nos. 2999, 12861 and 16363). |
| Seated Male Figure, 19th–20th century Democratic Republic of Congo; Kongo, Yombe Wood, glass, metal, kaolin; H. 11 1/2 in. (29.21 cm) Purchase, Louis V. Bell Fund, Mildred Vander Poel Becker Bequest, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, and Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1996 (1996.281) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY |
| Sotheby's - Paris Paolo Morigi collection : Important African Art Auction Date : Jun 6, 2005 Lot 166 : f - STATUE, KONGO, DELTA DU FLEUVE CONGO, RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO [A KONGO POWER FIGURE, Description f - STATUE, KONGO, DELTA DU FLEUVE CONGO, RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO [A KONGO POWER FIGURE, CONGO RIVER DELTA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO] PROVENANCE Daniel Hourdé, Paris, 1979 CATALOGUE NOTE cf. Leloup (1998 : 12, n°2) et Lehuard (1989 : 262) pour des exemplaires stylistiquement comparables. Selon Thompson (2002 : 37, 74) la pose de ce nkisi traduit l'attitude couramment appelée la "pose kongo", adoptée à la fois par la noblesse kongo et par les devins. Dimensions haut. 40 cm 15 2/3 in Estimate:€ 18,000 - € 23,000 Price Realized: $ 17,349 € 14,400 |
| Sotheby's - Paris Paolo Morigi collection : Important African Art Auction Date : Jun 6, 2005 Lot 163 : f - BELLE STATUETTE, BEMBÉ, RÉPUBLIQUE DU CONGO [A FINE BEMBE MALE FIGURE, REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO] Dimensions haut. 17 cm 6 2/3 in Estimate:€ 6,000 - € 9,000 Price Realized: $ 5,494 € 4,560 |
| See Thompson, RF, the Gesture kôngo, Paris, 2002, p.69, for another statue nkisi carved on a tortoise in the collection of Ethnologisches Museum of Berlin. The author explains: "When the nganga enters in fright in the name of its customer, its glance fixes the sky or the ground. While proceeding in this way, it will be able to follow the course of the life of the person whom it wishes to cure or advise. Once in fright, it "will read" the whole life of its customer and will discover the source of its problem. By looking at the sky, it receives a vision thanks to which, a such dog tracking game in the forest, it will be able to flush out the beings malfaisants, whatever the place where they hide. This explains the presence, on certain objects, of a dog between the legs, even of a tortoise. With the assistance of this amphibious reptile, the nganga progresses slowly, but it is then able to be driven at the same time on ground and in deep water, to cross the line of Kalunga, to approach the world of the ancestors and to unearth the problem, where which it is. The ritual expert is thus held on the back of one or the other of these animals mediators, for, in short, meaning that it contemplates the sky while crossing mystically the ground, the forest and the sea." Christie's - Paris Art Africain, Océanien et Précolombien Auction Date : Dec 8, 2004 Lot 229 : STATUETTE KONGO Description République Démocratique du Congo Nkisi, représentant un homme debout sur une tortue, les pieds finement sculptés, les bras le long du corps, les mains jointes sur le ventre, le visage aux traits eux aussi finement sculptés, la bouche légèrement ouverte montrant des dents limées, les yeux incrustés de verre, une grande charge magique sur la tête, ornements de métal autour du cou et de la ceinture. Patine sombre et brillante. Manques. Hauteur: 35 cm Estimate:€ 30,000 - € 50,000 Price Realized: $ 99,096 € 82,250 Provenance Jacques Kerchache, Paris Published Kerchache, J., Paudrat, J-L., et Stéphan, L., Art of Africa, New York, 1993, p.429, fig.602 |
| Christie's - Amsterdam TRIBAL ART FROM THE ESTATE OF THE LATE BARON FREDDY ROLIN Auction Date : Jul 2, 2002 Lot 238 : A KONGO STONE FIGURE Description Ntadi Seated cross-legged with one hand held to the face, the other arm akimbo, carved necklace and cylindrical cap, on flared base 44cm. high. Estimate: $ 1,980 - $ 2,970 Price Realized:$ 2,603 |
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