Buyu Male Ancestor Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

John J. Klejman, New York
Jack and Deborah Rosenberg, New York, acquired from the above in November 1973
Judy Rosenberg, New York, by descent from the above
Sotheby's, New York, November 11, 2004, lot 117, consigned by the above
Myron Kunin, Minneapolis, acquired at the above auction

Nicholas De Kun, "L'Art Boyo", Africa-Tervuren, Vol. XXV, No. 2, 1979, p. 35, fig. 16

Very good condition for an object of this age and type. Age crack through front proper right of abdomen. Minor marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions, and wear consistent with age and traditional handling. Exceptionally fine blackened crusty patina, with flaking in some places including proper right side of the chest. Permanently fixed to modern wood base.
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 art of the Buyu (aka Boyo or Buye) people is famous for its elegant and highly cubistic aesthetics. Located at the sources of the Luama river, from the east of Bangubangu territory to the northwestern border of Lake Tanganyika in present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Buyu live at the heart of one of the most artistic areas of the Congo. Their aesthetic tradition is closely linked to the Hemba, Luba, Tumbwe, and Tabwa, to name but a few.

While several Buyu statues had entered European anthropological collections in the early 20^th century (cf. a figure in the Museum der Weltkulturen, formerly known as the Museum für Völkerkunde, Frankfurt, collected by Drucker before 1908, inv. no. "N.S. 8 997", published in Himmelheber and Fischer 1968: cat. 70-71; a flywhisk handle in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich, acquired from Hugo Deininger in 1913, inv. no. "13.57.140", published in Philipps 1995: 297, cat. 4.67a; a figure in the Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, collected with several others in situ by Pilette in 1913, inv. no. "R.G. 14697", published in MRAC 1995: 235, cat. 200), it was the American art impresario and philanthropist Albert C. Barnes, presumably acting on the advice of Modigliani's dealer Paul Guillaume, who made Buyu art famous by using the features of a Buyu face (the model was presumably the figure at the Frankfurt museum), as modular element for the stucco frieze surrounding the main entrance of The Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion which opened its doors to the public in 1926.

According to Biebuyck (in MRAC 1995: 372, text to cat. 200), the male and female figures were "part of the cult for ancestors, founders of small independent political entities [...]. The figurines, often occurring in ensembles comprising several named and genealogically related ancestral personages, are kept in small shrines under the authority and guardianship of a petty chief, village headman or dominant lineage elder. Throughout the territory, that is identified with the [Buyu] ethnic group, cult for individually identified ancestors (bashumbu) is practiced at different levels of the lineage structure and sometimes merged with various beliefs in nature spirits (biseko, bahombo), but few sculptures are used in these cults. In times of crisis, the senior in charge of the cult would sleep in the shrine, and with some helpers engage in invocation, praises and libations for his ancestors to obtain their benevolence and cooperation." The fine encrusted patina on the offered lot can be directly ascribed to this kind of libation ritual.

In her discussion of a related figure in the exhibition Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, LaGamma (2002: 75) adds: "The Boyo communities within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, situated along the western banks of Lake Tanganyika, are a complex blend of peoples and cultural identities. The extensive cultural interaction that underlies their heritage has led to some dispute regarding the definition and place of Boyo sculptural traditions within the broader context of the region's art history. Although scholars have described Boyo sculpture as "proto-Luba," suggesting that it might have served as the basis for related traditions in present-day southwest Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is also the idea that it was significantly informed by those same traditions.

"Boyo communities were once renowned for their series of majestic royal ancestral representations that varied stylistically from one community to another. As with comparable traditions among the Tumbwe, Tabwa, and Hemba peoples, these ancestral ensembles, which comprised between four and seven works each, were protected in small funerary enclosures. Individual sculptures were named after the particular ancestors they invoked."