Statue (Pre-Bembe).
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Wood, height: 54 cm.
S. & J. Collection.
Often mixed by historical disorder, various stylistically close
statues were created by the western populations of Lake
Tanganyika - Hemba, Bembe, Boyo, Hhoombo, Tabwa, Bwile,
etc., and dedicated to their ancestors, who played an important
social role. Ancestral figures of dead chiefs or dignitaries were
placed in funerary huts or burial boxes and were meant to
protect the clan.