Songye Hermaphroditic Power Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

with attachments of Leopard (Panthera pardus) teeth, Crocodile (Crocodylus [niloticus] sp.) teeth, Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) teeth, African Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) tusks and Cowrie (Cypraea moneta) shells, with straps of Domestic Goat (Capra hircus) hide.  Label on reverse of base inscribed in black ink: No. 116. Jagdfetisch der Baluba Lualaba-Kasai, Congo-Belge

Klaus Clausmeyer (1887-1968), Cologne
Allan Stone, New York, acquired before 1966

The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut, Power Incarnate: Allan Stone's Collection of Sculpture from the Congo, May 14 - September 4, 2011

Kevin D. Dumouchelle, Power Incarnate: Allan Stone's Collection of Sculpture from the Congo, Greenwich, Connecticut, 2011, p. 67, cat. 45

Very good condition for an object of this type, materials, and age, including extensive original attachments. Marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions, and small chips. Age cracks, including to front of torso from neck to the waist; to proper right side of top element and head through proper right ear, and around integrally-carved plinth. Chipping around bottom edge. Hole in top of head from a previous charge, now lacking. Boar's tusks cracked. Fiber and textile elements fraying, dry, and with small losses. Teeth with chips and cracks. Dark oily patina to face. Fine varied, worn, medium brown patina with black painted dots to front of torso and some encrustation.
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 present figure belongs to an identifiable workshop, the archetype of which is among the most famous of all Songye sculptures.  Situated in Western Songye country, and indeed according to Neyt (2004: 306), "truly the embodiment of a western archetype", this oeuvre is led by the iconic figure in the collection of Jean Willy Mestach, Brussels (see Neyt 2004: 38-39, cat. no. 1, and Maurer 1991: 74-75, cat. no. 47), which was acquired by the colonial official Governor Général Gaston Heenen in 1919 from the chief of a village located 50 km to the south-east of Kabinda.  Another example with documented collecting history is the one collected by Hans Himmelheber before 1938 in the Eki region of Western Songye country (ibid.: 40-41, cat. no. 2).   Neyt refers to this as "The Belande Kibeshi" workshop. The present figure bears the clear hallmarks of this group, with its large eyes, smiling expression, and heavy eyelids.  Based upon the detailed and distinctive similarities it shares with the Mestach figure (for example the slight separation of the outside corner of each eyelid, and the neat rectangular segmented half-beard on either side of the jaw under the ears) it can be attributed to the same hand.