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A fine Luba figurative staff
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
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Description
the slender shaft with an openwork plaque at the lower portion, the upper portion wrapped in copper and leading to another triangular plaque supporting the slender female figure with elaborate scarification, hands held to the breasts, tiny beads at the neck and a rounded face and wearing a backswept cruciform coiffure; blackened and resinous patina.
Provenance
Freddy Rolin, New York
Exhibited
New York, F. Rolin & Co., Luba Hemba, April 20 - May 26, 1979
Literature
Rolin 1979: 12 and 15, catalogue number 17
Catalogue Note
Luba staffs are very important objects of prestige. Belonging to rulers, they were passed down through the generations. The staffs were sanctified by ritual specialists, fortified with medicine and metal to give them healing powers. For a detailed discussion see Roberts and Roberts (1996: 162-174).
The facial features with heavy-lidded eyes and protruding lips as well as the elaborate coiffure put the Luba staff from the Brill collection in close proximity to a workshop identified by Neyt as 'workshop of the middle Luvua' (1993: 52-53, 'atelier de la moyenne Luvua').