African Art - Funerary Statue Woyo Kitumba (No. 27804)

Belgian collection of african art, accompanied by its certificate of authenticity. Ethnic group: woyo country: congo funerary statue named kitumba, the same type called niongi among the yombé, formed female and male sculptures that decorated the tombs of notables. Matte patina. Erosions and cracks. The vili, the lâri, the sûndi, the woyo, the bembé, the bwende, the yombé and the kôngo formed the kôngo group, led by king ntotela. Their kingdom reached its peak in the 16th century with the trade in ivory, copper and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary with codified gestures in relation to their vision of the world. The woyo, however, distinguished themselves with their symbolic sculptures associated with proverbs and their emblems of power, including canes and fly swatters. Ref.: "the kongo gesture" ed. Musée dapper; "100 people of zaire and their sculpture" mlfélix.