Linguistic Family: Bantu language, Central Zone classification.

District or Village: Northern Luba area on the Zaire River west of Lake Tanganyika and in the south-east of Zaire. Three major art styles dominate this region - they are the Luba, Songye, and Hemba.

Collected: Date and place of collection is not known.

Description: This figure surmounting a calabash is called mabwe lugullu. It is used for divination of members of a society. Magic derives from fetish material stored in the calabash (this one has lost its contents).

The head is characterised by open eyes, high-arched eyebrows and strongly delineated open mouth. When seen in profile, the nose is hooked and droops somewhat at the end, and the face is relatively short-chinned. The fairly long nose forms an almost continuous arch with the forehead. The headdress is a cross in a quatrefoil with opposing wedge-shaped leaves overlapping. A headband extends across the top of the head with an inverted cone funnel on the crown. Scarifications on the stomach in the form of a diamond is classic for this art style.

The gesture of the figure with its open hands resting on prominent breasts is common for the art style of the northern Luba, Hemba, and other sub-groups.

Material: Wood with animal hide, fibre twine, and calabash.

Size: Height: 265mm and calabash diameter of 145mm. (0.15kg)

History: The large number of female figures found in Luba sculpture is related to the tribe's family system and the woman's important role in Luba society.

Provenance: Acquired at a Melbourne auction in 1998.

References:

Anton, Dockstader, Trowell, and Nevermann. PRIMITIVE ART - PRE-COLUMBIAN - NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN - AFRICAN - OCEANIC. Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1979. Page 399-400.

Cornet, Joseph. A SURVEY OF ZAIRIAN ART - The Bronson Collection. North Carolina Museum of Art, 1978. Page 260, 262 and 308.

Lunsford, John and Werner Foreman. THE GUSTAVE AND FRANYO SCHINDLER COLLECTION OF AFRICAN SCULPTURE. Dallas Museum of Fine Art, 1975. Page 124, Fig 41.

Roy, Christopher D. ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA - Selections from the Stanley Collection. The University of Iowa Museum of Art, 1992. Page 174-5, Fig 122.