Songye Power Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Collected in situ by Hans Himmelheber before 1938
Collection G. Dennis 
Sotheby's New York, November 10, 1987, lot 64, consigned by the above
Merton D. Simpson, New York, acquired at the above auction
Allan Stone, New York, acquired from the above

The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, Power Incarnate: Allan Stone's Collection of Sculpture from the Congo, May 14 - September 4, 2011

François Neyt, Songye : la redoutable statuaire songye d'Afrique centrale, Brussels, 2004, p. 285, pl. 271
François Neyt, Songye: the Formidable Statuary of Central Africa, New York, 2009, p. 285, pl. 271
Kevin D. Dumouchelle, Power Incarnate: Allan Stone's Collection of Sculpture from the Congo, Greenwich, Connecticut, 2011, p. 64, cat. 41 (two views)

Very good condition for an object of this age and rare type. Marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions, and small chips consistent with age and use. Chips to face as shown in catalogue photographs, in upper lip and chin. Age cracks, including to front of lower section from proper right bottom edge of the belly to the foot. Metal elements with dents, small losses, creases, and missing nails. Metal elements oxidized and with fine brown aged patina. Crusty black charge bundle atop the head. Abrasions and nail holes on the reverse. A rectangular chiseled recess on the reverse of the lower portion with nail holes. The underside of the foot with erosion and age cracks, covered with bright red oil paint (not visible when standing). Extraordinarily fine lustrous varied dark brown patina, seething ritually-applied oil from the face.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This highly cubistic figure is of an early, highly refined style which derives from the Songye region bordering the Luba Empire.  Like the celebrated arts of the Luba, the present figure displays an elegant, meditative expression.  The rounded forehead and geometrically stylized eyelids are related to those seen in certain Luba-Songye kifwebe masks (seelot 128).  The gracefully balanced overall form is a highly abstract reduction of classic Songye style, broken into essential geometric forms.

The German ethnographer Dr. Hans Himmelheber was a member of the pioneering generation of scholars of African art, along with Franz Olbrechts and Jan Vandenhoute, who were the first outsiders to attempt to gather information about African artists.  Having travelled previously to Alaska and Ivory Coast, Himmelheber went to Cameroon, Gabon, and what was then the Belgian Congo from May 7, 1938 to July 14, 1939.  The objects and information that he collected during this trip would form an important basis for his groundbreaking book Negerkunst und Negerkünstler (1960).

The figure features a very rare geometric four-plaited coiffure, and the original surface of ritually-applied oil.  Regarding its attribution, François Neyt (2004: 312-313) suggests that the present figure "reveals the influence of the Kalebwe ya Ngongo living close to a western tributary of the Lomami, not far from the Eki."