MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)

MALE STATUETTE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TABWA (Tumbwe)

The ovoid head with almond-shaped eyes, straight nose and protruding oval mouth is characterised above all by a headdress finely decorated with network of parallel ridges at the nape of the neck and bands of alternating triangles separated by two circular lines. The top of the head is sliced off horizontally revealing a large hole which may have contained sacrificial or magical substances. A dark blue bead necklace is tied around its powerful neck. The body and buttocks seem to carved in a single piece. The arms pressed against the body are drawn back slightly. There is a hole in the upper arms, probably to take a cord so that the sacred power figure could be carried. The lower part of the body may have been covered with a loincloth. The straight penis is a sign of fertility and the legs disappear into a circular convex base.

Collected in situ around 1925 by Edouard d'Orjo de Marchovelette

Exhibited at Brussels World Fair in 1958

Published:
- Neyt, F, and Dubois, H., 2013, African Fetishes and Ancestral Objects, 5 Continents Edition: Milan

Provenance:
- Edouard d'Orjo de Marchovelette and inherited by his family
- Didier Claes, Brussels, Belgium
- Richard Carchon, Paris & Brussels, France & Belgium
- Serge Schoffel, Brussels, Belgium


Literature:
- Roberts, A.F. and Maurer, E.M., 1985, T A B W A: The Rising of a New Moon : A Century of Tabwa Art, Univ of Washington Press
- Roberts, M.N. and Roberts, A.F., 1996, Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History, Prestel Publishing
- Neyt, F, and Dubois, H., 2013, African Fetishes and Ancestral Objects, 5 Continents Edition: Milan
- Petridis , C., 2008, Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, The Cleveland Museum of Art

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