A Kongo/Bembe female figure

standing on broad feet, the bent legs supporting the torso with swayed back and rounded abdomen with deeply carved navel beneath conical breasts, the shoulders pitched back and leading to arms held to the sides and holding ritual implements, the thick neck supporting the head with jutting chin and wearing a conical coiffure; '465' at the back; reddish brown slightly glossy surface.

Morton Lipkin, 1960's

Milwaukee, Selections from The William W. Brill Colllection of African Art, 1969: 29, figure 45, catalogue of the exhibition, Milwaukee Public Museum, May 5 - August 31, 1969 (for additional venues see bibliography, Milwaukee 1969)

The interest of this statue lies in the fact that it that merges elements of Bembe (e.g. the facial plan) and Kongo (e.g. the posture of the hands and the upturned head) iconography into an innovative sculpture. Personal notes of William W. Brill reveal that his investigation about the origins and function of this sculpture continued for decades and involved scholars and 'amateurs' around the world. However, the quest remained inconclusive.