A Superb Luba Prestige Staff, Democratic Republic of the Congo

rising from a thin metal blade, the cylindrical shaft decorated with copper and tin bands and brass tacks, in the middle a flat hourglass shaped panel surmounted by two male heads with crested coiffure, on top a second flat hourglass shaped panel surmounted by a male standing figure with parted legs, the hands pointing forward, and wearing a crested coiffure, 'FC772' in white pigment on the right side of the base; exceptionally fine aged blackened patina, with residue and oxidation underneath metal bands.

Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels
Marc Leo Felix, Brussels
Fred 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)

Christopher D. Roy, Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection, Seattle, 1997, pp. 196-197 and 367-368, fig. 116
--, Kilengi. Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, Hanover, 1997, pp. 200-201 and 371, fig. 116

excellent condition overall; one copper band loose, areas of abrasion consistent with handling; wear and tear; exceptionally fine aged blackened patina, with residue and oxidation underneath metal bands.
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.

In his discussion of a closely related staff from the same workshop, Frank Herreman (in Kooten and Heuvel 1990: 166, text to cat. 73) notes: "The most westerly of the Luba groups evolved a sculptural formal language in which Songye and Chokwe influences can be discerned. In the [figure] on this chief's staff - a symbol of authority - the attitude of the arms and the large hands are clearly of Chokwe origin. The execution of the face shows a resemblance to that of Songye figures and masks, with their protruding mouths and angular chins." For other staffs by the same workshop see one formerly in The Carlo Monzino Collection, Lugano (Vogel 1986: 175, no. 127); a second published by Leurquin (1988: 227, fig. 211); a third formerly in The Bronson Collection, Los Angeles (Sotheby's, New York, May 18, 1992, lot 197); and the finial of a fourth formerly in the Paolo Morigi Collection (Sotheby's, London, June 21, 1979 and Sotheby's, Paris, December 6, 2005, lot 117).

Roy (1997: 367-368, text to fig. 116) continues: "All [staffs from this workshop] are of special interest because of the rectangular shapes with pinched waists at the middle and the top of the staff. These undoubtedly represent the lukasa devices that were used by Luba and Songye historicans to help their memories as they recited royal genealogies and important political events. It is well known from the work of Mary Nooter (1991), Allen F. Roberts (1990), Leo Polfliet (1989), and others that such staffs played a central role in Luba kingship systems, and as the Luba spread their political influence to their neighbors through alliances and treaties, the objects that represent power among the Luba spread to their neighbors as well. The incised patterns on the two lukasa represent bazilia, or royal secrets and prohibitions (Nooter 1993: 105, no. 37). The close historical relationship between the Luba and the Songye dates from the founding of the first Luba empire in the sixteenth century by Nkongolo, who is said to have been a Songye."