GothamGallery Fine African Tribal Art - DRC Bembe Figure

Description: Welcome To The Premier Place For Serious Collectors of Fine Authentic African Tribal Art Over 10 Years Online Serving Thousands of Satisfied Customers Offering the Finest Quality Sub-Saharan African Art Fine African DRC Bembe Figure Inches: Height: 10.25 Inches Centimeters: Height: 26.00 Centimeters Measurements Sculpture Only Material: Wood, Glass Eyes Estimated Age: Early 20th Century Condition: Good Remarks: Stylized figure distinctive scarifications dense wood dark patina INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS WELCOME Any Available Provenance Will Be Included With This Piece. CONDITIONWood deterioration, lager chip to back of coiffure, worn areas, fine age cracks, overall condition good. Thank you and please view my other items. BACKGROUNDThe Bembe form a small group people and they live on the plateaus situated to the north of the Zaire River, as well as on the shores of Stanley Pool and in the cities of Brazzaville, Dolisie, and Pointe-Noire. The Bembe had close contacts with their neighbors the Teke, but Kongo contributions were essential to their culture and traditions. Their social organization was based on the matrimonial clan, whose members could live in several villages. The family unit generally included three generations. The chief in charge of the village, the Nga-bula, mediated with the ancestors. Hunting was the main activity; before leaving on a hunt, the leader would invoke the ancestral spirits, using as intermediaries statuettes kneeling in the position of a hunter waiting for his prey. The Bembe believed in a creator god, Nzambi, whom they did not depict figuratively. He was the master of the life and death – unless the latter was due to the act of a sorcerer, Ndoki, who could magically “eat” the life force of clan members. The ancestors had close ties with the living and received offerings through the “priest,” who made appeals to statuettes, the kitebi or bimbi, consecrated by the sorcerer. These figurines were the idealized images of the ancestors and would often wear attributes that allowed them to be identified as medicine men or hunters. The ancestor worship among the Bembe is older, though, and precedes the use of magic statues, Nkisi, by the sorcerers. Bembe art is profoundly religious; its purpose is to maintain contact with the dead. The art is quite original, consisting mainly of minutely carved ancestral figures that can be identified by extensive scarification on the abdomen. Such body decoration no longer exists today but survives as a style characteristic of the sculpture. The Bembe statuettes are divided by size and sex. As long as the spirit lives in the statue, it watches over its descendants and punishes transgressors of customs or precepts. The statuette is dressed in a skin or fabric loincloth and a beaded necklace, and wears a beard. The palms of the male sculptures’ hands are turned toward one another or they carry objects: a rifle or knife in the right hand and a calabash in the left. Sometimes two braids frame the face, sometimes the hairdo ends in a long braid at the back of the head. The figure usually is upright with knees slightly bent, its large feet with carefully articulated toes standing on the base; the seated position occurs less frequently. Female statuettes have a pronounced, almost square, chin, a large nose and mouth, finely sculpted ears, and hair carved in relief on the forehead. The Mmuziri is an anthropomorphic power figure, composed of plant material covered in red fabric, which contains relics of the ancestor and receives, under a small purpose-built shelter, regular libations of palm wine and food offerings. Nevertheless, an ornamental, secular art does exist and includes pipes, spoons, earplugs, and musical instruments. Painter Fred Uhlman words - Most of the artists I admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Deraini, to mention only a few, had collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by it. Shortly afterwards I bought the Baule Fetish and the Baule bobbin which are still two of the finest pieces in my collection. It is easy to see why I bought them and why from that moment I have never stopped collecting. The head of the bobbin or heddle - pulley which is after all only a functional object for the purpose of weaving seemed to me then and today as beautiful as a Greek goddess. The fetish moved me as deeply as the bobbin by its silent tragic dignity and its air of profound meditation. GUARANTEEAUTHENTICITY AND CONDITION OF ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED TO THEIR DESCRIPTION AND PICTURES.QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, OR MORE DETAIL PICTURES. SHIPPINGSHIPPING VIA USPS PARCEL POST OR FEDEX GROUND UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. OTHER SHIPPING OPTIONS AVAILABLE. INTERNATIONAL VIA USPS PRIORITY MAIL -SHIPPING COST PLEASE INQUIRE. COMBINED SHIPPING: SHIPPING IS ALWAYS COMBINED WHEN POSSIBLE, UNLESS THE PIECE IS TOO LARGE OR DELICATE.SHIPPING TIME: ITEM(S) ARE CAREFULLY PACKAGED AND SHIPPED OUT WITHIN 10 DAYS OF PAYMENT. PACKING FRAGILE ART ITEM NEEDS CAREFUL ATTENTION AND WILL NEVER BE FAST, BUT WE DO OUT BEST TO MAKE SURE IT WILL ARRIVE FOR YOU SAFELY. IF YOU NEED THE ITEM QUICKLY PLEASE EMAIL FIRST FOR ARRANGEMENT.

Price: 550 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2023-09-02T23:14:10.000Z

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