LUBA
Bowstand
Center of this elegant bowstand is a masterfully worked female figure. Her richly decorated skin and the elaborate hairstyle are features of a person of high rank and embody an ideal of the Luba civilization. Her head is crowned by a stout three-piece fork.
These objects are unique to the Luba, and about 70 of them have been documented. Such artifacts point to the hero of Luba culture, Mbidi Kiluwe, a foreign prince who ushered in an era of enlightened leadership and founded a dynasty of sacred Luba kings. The Luba ceremonial bow stands were never displayed in public, but were kept in the king's residence and guarded by a female dignitary.
DRC , 50 cm
Acquired 1938 by Hans Himmelheber in situ | published in
Himmelheber “Negerkunst” 1960, Fiction Kongo, 2019 | exhibited at
Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 2019 | Wood, cotton, metal
MARKET DEBUT: 2023
