Luba Lukasa board
€290.00
Distinctive carved wooden tablet attributable to the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed as a gently concave panel surmounted by an elegant seated female figure. Its surface is organised as a repertoire of carved symbols — including celestial and figurative motifs — framed by a finely incised border.
The object may be related to the tradition of lukasa, or memory boards, associated with the Mbudye society. Rather than being texts in the conventional sense, these objects served as mnemonic devices through which initiated members recalled dynastic histories, genealogies, territorial organisation and the political principles of the Luba state. Their symbolic language was understood fully only by the highest-ranking members of the association.
The prominent female figure crowning the board is equally significant. In Luba visual culture, the female form is intimately associated with memory, spiritual mediation and the legitimacy of political authority.
With its unusual construction and rich symbolic vocabulary, this work offers a particularly expressive interpretation of the Luba tradition of objects devoted to knowledge and remembrance.
Shipping fees
02744
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 37 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Condition
- Excellent
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Distinctive carved wooden tablet attributable to the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed as a gently concave panel surmounted by an elegant seated female figure. Its surface is organised as a repertoire of carved symbols — including celestial and figurative motifs — framed by a finely incised border.
The object may be related to the tradition of lukasa, or memory boards, associated with the Mbudye society. Rather than being texts in the conventional sense, these objects served as mnemonic devices through which initiated members recalled dynastic histories, genealogies, territorial organisation and the political principles of the Luba state. Their symbolic language was understood fully only by the highest-ranking members of the association.
The prominent female figure crowning the board is equally significant. In Luba visual culture, the female form is intimately associated with memory, spiritual mediation and the legitimacy of political authority.
With its unusual construction and rich symbolic vocabulary, this work offers a particularly expressive interpretation of the Luba tradition of objects devoted to knowledge and remembrance.