African Arts Gallery

This carved stick with a cephalomorphic motif, surmounted by a deep ritual cut, is part of the head's figurative insignia. Irregular, worn-out contours. Satin black brown patina. Erosions on the back of the handle. 58 cm on a pedestal.
The seed live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the have settled on the banks of the Kasai river downstream of Tshikapa. The influences of the neighbouring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu, were imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the masks Mbuya, realistic, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chef, the soothsayer and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc. The masks of initiation and those of power, the minganji, represent the ancestors and occur successively during the same ceremonies, agricultural festivals, initiation rituals and circumcision mukanda, induction of the chief. Source: Kerchache, African art.