Ancestor figure - Basikasingo Buyu - Congo - SOLD
Basikasingo tribal art in Congo
The term Basikasingo is an ethnonym artificially created in the colonial era and refers to small heterogeneous groups scattered on the territory of Bembé, in the region of Fizi, between the Luama River and the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. All the traditions of the region report that different groups of hunters, from the north, south and south-west, settled in this region long before the Bembé and Lega settled there, which is why Biebuyck referred to them as "pre-Bembe".
Although the Bembe, as so-called "pre-Bembe" groups, all worship their ancestors, whose symbols they keep in small shrines, the first have few African figures carved ancestors, unlike Basikasingo, of which each chief has several effigies of his ascendants, male and female. Here we observe an advanced level of stylization due to the geometry and the symmetrical character of the piece.
The characteristic head is triangular and decorated with a crenellated beard. The headdress is divided into large mats pulled back. The patina is dark and smooth. A median ridge passes through the facies and separates the large eyes into "coffee beans".
Buy other tribal items on our African art gallery.
Provenance : collection privée BelgiqueDatation estimée : années 1950Dimensions : 39 x 13 cmMatériau : bois
00134
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 39 x 13 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- Tribal art collection Belgium
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Basikasingo tribal art in Congo
The term Basikasingo is an ethnonym artificially created in the colonial era and refers to small heterogeneous groups scattered on the territory of Bembé, in the region of Fizi, between the Luama River and the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. All the traditions of the region report that different groups of hunters, from the north, south and south-west, settled in this region long before the Bembé and Lega settled there, which is why Biebuyck referred to them as "pre-Bembe".
Although the Bembe, as so-called "pre-Bembe" groups, all worship their ancestors, whose symbols they keep in small shrines, the first have few African figures carved ancestors, unlike Basikasingo, of which each chief has several effigies of his ascendants, male and female. Here we observe an advanced level of stylization due to the geometry and the symmetrical character of the piece.
The characteristic head is triangular and decorated with a crenellated beard. The headdress is divided into large mats pulled back. The patina is dark and smooth. A median ridge passes through the facies and separates the large eyes into "coffee beans".
Buy other tribal items on our African art gallery.
Provenance : collection privée BelgiqueDatation estimée : années 1950Dimensions : 39 x 13 cmMatériau : bois