LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 June African & Oceanic Art Auction #645  / 

48229

Kuyu (Gabon)Ritual HeadWood, pigmentHeight: 20

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:625.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 4,000.00 USD
Kuyu (Gabon)Ritual HeadWood, pigmentHeight: 20
<B>Kuyu (Gabon)</B></I><BR>Ritual Head<BR>Wood, pigment<BR>Height: 20 ¼ inches Width: 5 inches Depth: 5 inches<BR><BR>Quite a number of heads of this type were collected in the 1920's, a few with some supporting data (the Powell-Cotton Museum examples, for instance; see Keith Nicklin. “Kuyu Sculpture at the Powell-Cotton Museum,” <I>African Arts,</B></I> vol.XVII, no.1, Nov.1983, pp.56 ff.). A number of articles published in 1918-19 by Alfred Poupon following postings to the region inhabited by the Kuyu from 1904 to 1907 and from 1913 to 1917, provide the primary source for most recent discussions of Kuyu material.<BR>Heads with the bilobed hairdress seen in this example are designated as having a married woman's coiffure, and are thus identified as female (Anne-Marie Bénézech. “So-called Kuyu Carvings,” <I>African Arts,</B></I> vol.XXII, no.1, Nov.1988,p.56). In initiations of the Snake moiety (the other moiety was the Panther), a dancer concealed under a long, flowing gown, which was fastened at the grooved segment just below where the painted neck area begins, held the tapered handle to control the movement of the head. “At the initiation ceremony,<I> djo,</B></I> the Kuyu origin myth was enacted. …In the Kébé Kébé dance of the initiation ceremony, the Snake-man, Eouya, imitated the actions of a serpent prior to the entry of the ancestors of Kuyu, Ebotita (the mother) and Djoku (the father). Appearing last of all was the Great Serpent, Ebongo, portrayed wearing the same kind of gown as Eouya, but carrying a smaller head high in the air. Initiation involved revealing the identity of the Great Serpent to the neophyte” (Nicklin, <I>loc. cit</B></I>., p 59, based on Poupon).<BR>Other than a natural shrinkage of the center core of the wood and a fine crack near the front central vertical axis, there is only slight age abrasion.<BR><BR>Provenance: Michael Leach, San Rafael, California<BR><BR><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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