Bongo Funerary Figure, Sudan

Zafrira and Itzhak Shoher, Tel Aviv

Very good condition for an object of this type and age. Surface weathered from exposure to the elements. Minor marks, nicks, scratches, and abrasions consistent with age and exposure. Some minor age cracks. Narrow vertical channel of insect damage extending from proper left side of the top of the head through proper left shoulder (partially open at proper left side of head and neck), through body, and continuing out between legs, with some damage to inside of proper right leg, and continuing through center of base with an open hole between the feet. Proper right forearm broken and glued. Bottom of figure is fragmentary with cut marks on underside. Fine weathered medium brown patina with residue. Attached to base with three screws.
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.

The Bongo people, a population of hunters and farmers, were decimated in the second half of the 19th century, particularly due to the expansion of the Zandé kingdoms. Today the Bongo live in communities scattered throughout south-western Sudan. Traditionally, a Bongo man acquired status during his lifetime through recognition of his talents as a hunter and warrior. Those who were most respected were honored upon their death by the raising of a wooden effigy, or ngya, marking the site of their tomb. Each community had its own master sculptors, as Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard noted during his journey in the Tonj region in the 1920s (1929: 1-61).

Little known to the outside world until the late 1960s, Bongo sculpture was represented in Western collections before then only by a figure in the British Museum (von Sydow 1954: pl. 134 A), collected in 1846 by John Petherick.  A group of about 17 statues was collected by Christian Duponcheel between 1969 and 1972, and of this group several are today in major museum collections, including the Menil Collection, Houston (Van Dyke 2008: 166, cat. 77), the Barbier Mueller Museum, Geneva (Philipps 1995 : 137, no. 2.18a), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. "1973.264").