Yombe style statuette - Lot 268

Yombe style statuette Democratic Republic of Congo Wood H : 26 cm The status of the chief is signified by the pose, as well as by the finely woven skullcap (mpu) which was reserved for him to wear. The Yombe statuary expresses, through the gestures of the characters, the moral, political and religious code of the Kongo civilization to which it is attached. to which it is attached. The pose - funda nkata (sitting cross-legged) is a sign of respect (Lehuard, Art Bakongo, les centers de style, vol. II, 1989, p. 109) -, its association with the attitude of the head resting on the hand "is the sign that the person is thinking before speaking. Such is the figure of the ideal chief" (Thompson in Dapper, Le geste kôngo, 2002, p. 92). This sculpture praises a perfect beauty - a fleshy mouth very finely modelled, a nose with dilated wings, filed teeth, detailed ears - exalting the vitality of the subject.