African Arts Gallery

This object of African art, from a private Antwerp collection, is formed of a rectangular flat, extended by a stick engraved in its upper part of parallel lines arranged in triangles, and then a female figure in round-bump. The character is endowed, limited by a checkered headband, with a braided hairstyle called "en cascade", like the Luba women's headdresses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as evidenced by the photographs taken at the time. Large hollowed-out eye sockets shelter stretched and closed eyelids, and a small mouth appears in a prognathic chin. The protruding of the abdomen is highlighted by the position of digitized hands, the realistic figuration of sexual organs further accentuating the reference to motherhood and fertility. The buttocks also have protrusions, echoing the shape of the chest. The lower limbs, on the other hand, are bent and undersized, sharply contrasting with the length of the bust.

Brown patina with traces of use.