A Fine Songye Male Power Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

the male figure standing with straight legs, the hands resting on the abdomen and framing the navel filled with magical substances, the elongated neck surmounted by a bearded head with typical features, the face covered with copper sheets and copper and iron pegs, on top of the had a hole with magic materials; varied dark brown patina with residue and corrosion on the metal parts.

Reportedly collected in Kananga, before 1900
Marc Leo Felix, Brussels
Fred and Jens Jahn, Munich

Iowa City, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection, March 27 - May 23, 1999 (for additional venues see bibliography, Roy 1997)

Jean Willy Mestach, Songye Studies: Form and Symbolism. An Analytical Essay, Munich, 1985, p. 114, fig. 28
Christopher D. Roy, Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection, Seattle, 1997, pp. 184 and 364, fig. 106
--, Kilengi. Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, Hanover, 1997, pp. 188 and 368, fig. 106

very good condition overall; minor age crack on left shoulder and reverse of head, nicks, scratches, wear and tear; varied dark brown patina with residue and corrosion on the metal parts.
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.

Roy (1997: 364, text to fig.106) notes: "This large power figure in Mestach's study of the Songye (1985: 114, fig. 28) was, according to Mestach's sources, collected by European missionaries in Kananga [a city in the province Kasai-Occidental, outside of Songye territory] before 1900. Mestach speculates that it may have been carried by the Beneki in their migrations toward the southwest in 1887-1888, when they joined the Nsapo to avoid extermination by the more powerful Kalebwe. These migrations were the result of upheavals caused by the raids of Arab slave traders led by Tippu Tip in the 1870s and later exacerbated by encounters with Belgian colonial authority."