Description
Kongo Yombe mwavala sceptre, Democratic Republic of Congo . Honey patina ivory. 19th - first third of the 20th century. Height : 24 cm Yombe sceptre of good quality, carved with a female effigy with crossed legs, ornamented wrists and neck, hands brought back on the shoulders. She dominates a second figure holding an instrument with her left hand and her muk'uisa root with her right. The faces are detailed with great delicacy, and the whole piece is well cared for and marked with a warm patina. According to Raoul Lehuard, the ivory sceptre represents both the most eminent symbol of the Mwe chief and the most powerful regalia for the Kongo peoples. A very codified reading accompanies this type of work, whose richness of detail must be emphasized here. Bibliography: Raoul Lehuard, Art Bakongo, Insigne de pouvoir : Le sceptre, Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, Éditions Art d'Afrique Noire, 1998.
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Kongo Yombe mwavala sceptre, Democratic Republic of Congo . Honey patina ivory. 19th - first third of the 20th century. Height : 24 cm Yombe sceptre of good quality, carved with a female effigy with crossed legs, ornamented wrists and neck, hands brought back on the shoulders. She dominates a second figure holding an instrument with her left hand and her muk'uisa root with her right. The faces are detailed with great delicacy, and the whole piece is well cared for and marked with a warm patina. According to Raoul Lehuard, the ivory sceptre represents both the most eminent symbol of the Mwe chief and the most powerful regalia for the Kongo peoples. A very codified reading accompanies this type of work, whose richness of detail must be emphasized here. Bibliography: Raoul Lehuard, Art Bakongo, Insigne de pouvoir : Le sceptre, Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, Éditions Art d'Afrique Noire, 1998.
