Hemba Singiti ancestor figure
Ancestors in African art from the Luba complex
A true object of African art worthy of the finest museum collections, I offer you here a statue of the Hemba Singiti ancestor (pl. Lusingiti).
Culturally close to the Luba, the Hemba nevertheless have a real unique identity in their own right that has been ignored for a long time.
Their artistic corpus is mainly composed of effigies of ancestors with extraordinary naturalism.
As seen in this honey-stained wooden figure, the face is quite incomparable: finesse and balance are present.
The headdress, made up of several parallel bands, is very refined and closes in a brace at the back. The sexual organ is highlighted, indeed, the statues of lusingiti ancestors of the Hemba were exclusively male.
Strong, short legs anchor the character to the ground.
A small lack is to be noted on the right foot.
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Circa 1960
- Size
- 59 cm
- Ethnic group
-
Hemba - Material(s)
- Wood, beads
- Country
-
Democratic Republic of the Congo - Origin
- Tribal art collection Belgium
- Condition
- Very good
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