African Arts Gallery

Ancestor statuette marked with keloid signs testifying to the successive stages of initiation to which the individual was subjected. A bilongo load is attached to the back. Sometimes set with ivory or earthenware, the almond-shaped eyes are encrusted with bone. Brilliant orange-brown patina.
Established on the plateaus of the People's Republic of Congo ex. Brazzaville, and not to be confused with the Bembe group north of Lake Tanganinyika, the small Bwende group was influenced by Téké rites and culture , but especially by that of the Kongo. The Vili, the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembe, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo constituted the Kôngo group, led by king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced a statuary endowed with a codified gesture in relation to their vision of the world. The Bwendé sculptures were strongly inspired by those of the neighboring Beembé. Some of their carvings, as among the Bakongo, were magical objects minkisi with nails and which had holes in which medicines, bilongo, or relics of ancestors, were introduced.