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

48245

Yaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)Mbwoolo bitek

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:375.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 1,900.00 USD
Yaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)Mbwoolo bitek
<B>Yaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)</B></I><BR><I>Mbwoolo biteki</B></I> (eight Curing Figures)<BR>Wood, ritual substances, cloth<BR>Heights vary from 2 ¾ inches to 6 1/8 inches<BR><BR>These small figures are used among the Yaka (and until recently also among the Suku) in <I>Mbwoolo</B></I> diagnostic-curative contexts. Owned by lineages rather than individuals, "the <I>Mbwoolo</B></I> pass from one generation to another through the 'seizure' and subsequent cure of a man or woman who by this ordeal is entitled to become its ritual officer, the nganga" (Arthur P. Bourgeois. "<I>Mbwoolo</B></I> Sculpture of the Yake", <I>African Arts,</B></I> vol.XII, no.3, May 1979, p.58; this is a rich and evocative account of <I>Mbwoolo</B></I>). In each curative situation specific sculptures would be commissioned according to the early diagnosis by the <I>nganga,</B></I> thus there is great variety even though certain formats recur.<BR><BR>In this group, four of the figures are heads or upper bodies on a plain shaft. These are almost certainly <I>ndedi</B></I> charms worn around the neck as protective charms, or tied to the forearm to treat a minor illness. Another figure retains the Kaolin headband and ritual incrustations indicating its actual use in a curative process. Such used figures "are characterized by the red <I>khula</B></I>-rubbed surface, the kaolin line across the forehead, and kola nut residue on the stomach" (Bourgeois, <I>op. cit</B></I>., p.60). All of the figures are generally in good condition.<BR><BR>Provenance: H. Bruce Greene, II and family, Naples, Florida<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>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot