LUBA CARYATID STOOL, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Patricia Withofs, London
Dr. Richard and Jan Baum, Los Angeles, acquired in 1976

UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, Body Politics: The Female Image in Luba Art and the Sculpture of Alison Saar, November 12, 2000 - May 13, 2001
LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Tradition and Innovation in African Art, January 27 - November 2, 2008

Mary Nooter Roberts and Alison Saar, Body Politics: The Female Image in Luba Art and the Sculpture of Alison Saar, Los Angeles, 2000, p. 59, cat. 75

Good condition for an object of this type and age. Insect damage and erosion in top and bottom, partially visible in photographs. Radiating age cracks in top and bottom. Smaller cracks nicks, scratches, chips and abrasions throughout. Chipping around coiffure. Evidence of ritual scraping on face and body. Exceptionally fine dark brown oily patina.
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.
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According to Roberts and Roberts (2007: 7 and 9), the Luba were a cluster of "overlapping clan and lineage groupings that were consolidated as kingdoms and important chiefdoms from around the seventeenth century" by the mythical hero, king Kalala Ilunga. "Luba political strength lay in an aura of prestige derived from spiritual power and reflected in material and performance arts. Indeed, the arts played a crucial role in Luba political expansion, as kings conferred objects and the ritual practices associated with them to extend their influence into outlying areas."

Female caryatid stools were part of each Luba king's treasury and the most important emblem of his kingship.  Stools figured prominently in royal investiture rites where "the new ruler swore his oath of office and addressed his people for the first time as king" (Roberts and Roberts 1996: 18, text to cat. 2).  The purpose of caryatid stools was, however, not as much functional as it was symbolic.  The female figure made reference to the matrilineal dynastic succession.  When a Luba king died his residence was preserved as lieu de mémoire where his spirit was alive and incarnated by a human medium, called mwadi.  Objects from the deceased king's royal treasury became objects of devotion and were ritually venerated.  The present lot shows traces of palm oil and scraping on the lips and nose of the caryatid figure. The ritual removal of small pieces of wood attests to the stool's spiritual importance as source of sacred substance.

For two closely related stools by the same hand cf. one previously in the collection of Han Coray, acquired between 1916 and 1928, today in the Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich, Zurich (inv. no. "10169", Szalay 1998: 195, cat. 155), and a second one previously in the collection of Gaston Heenen, Governor of Katanga, acquired before 1937, today in a private collection (Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Paris, March 13, 1981, lot 53).