- 102
STATUE, KONGO, RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO |
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 EUR
bidding is closed
Description
- Wood
- haut. 47 cm ; 18 1/2 in
Statue, Kongo, République Démocratique du Congo
Provenance
Collection du Dr. Etienne Lopé (1883-1954), La Rochelle
Collection du Dr. Pierre Danhaive, Namur
Gros & Delettrez, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 17 novembre 2003, n° 396
Collection privée, Allemagne
Collection du Dr. Pierre Danhaive, Namur
Gros & Delettrez, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 17 novembre 2003, n° 396
Collection privée, Allemagne
Literature
Lehuard, Fétiches à clous du Bas-Zaïre, 1980, n° 62
Lehuard, Art Bakongo - Les Centres de Style, 1989, vol. II, n° M.1-1-5
Lehuard, Art Bakongo - Les Centres de Style, 1989, vol. II, n° M.1-1-5
Condition
Excellent condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture. Front of the proper left foot is broken and glued and the base is eroded. Fine encrusted patina. As visible in the catalogue illustration some thin open cracks but wear consistent with age and use within the culture. The magical charges of the torso and the head are exceptionally well preserved.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Raoul Lehuard, dans son important ouvrage Art Bakongo, les centres de style (1898, vol. 2, p. 613), rattache cette statue au style développé par les Solongo, peuple Kongo vivant dans la région de l’embouchure du fleuve Congo. Aujourd’hui conservé au Musée de Tervuren, l’archétype de cet étroit corpus sculptural fut collecté au début du XXe siècle par H. Janssen dans le village de Nemlao. S'y ajoutent les deux statues provenant de la collection du Dr. Etienne Lopé - la première, entrée au Museum Lafaille à la Rochelle avant 1954, la seconde présentée ici. Tandis que la pose telema lwimbanganga - attitude sacrée adoptée par la noblesse Kongo et par les devins en signe d’autorité absolue - est accentuée par la démesure du bras droit brandissant une lance, le pouvoir actif qui lui était conféré par le nganga (spécialiste rituel) décuple dans la double charge émergeant au sommet de la tête et sur l’abdomen, et dans l’impact visuel du long fer autochtone fiché dans le buste. Le sculpteur a traduit, dans la délicatesse des détails anatomiques, les critères idéalisés de la beauté Kongo : bouche charnue aux lèvres délicatement ourlées, long nez, sourcils fins et arqués encadrant des yeux sertis de porcelaine et oreilles au pavillon détaillé. Le rare naturalisme du corps est accentué par la générosité des modelés, dessinant des membres tout en rondeurs mis en valeur par les nuances de la patine brun rouge. Dans ce contraste superbement abouti entre l’incarnation de la puissance et celle de la beauté, l’artiste a exprimé toute la complexité de ces statues nkisi-nkonde, objets « ambivalents et multifonctionnels, [qui] agressent comme ils protègent et guérissent » (Felix, Art & Kongos, 1995, p. 67).
Raoul Lehuard, in his prominent book Art Bakongo, les centres de style (1898, vol. 2, p. 613), places this statue within the style developed by the Solongo, a Kongo people living in the region of the mouth of the Congo River. The archetype of this narrow sculptural corpus, now preserved in the Tervuren Museum, was collected at the beginning of the 20th century by H. Janssen, in the village of Nemlao. It is joined by two statues from Dr. Etienne Lopé’s collection - with the first inegrating the Lafaille Museum collections in la Rochelle in 1954, and the second presented here.
Whilst the telema lwimbanganga pose - a sacred stance adopted by the Kongo nobility and diviners as a sign of absolute authority - is emphasized by the exaggeration of the right arm holding a weapon, the active power conferred on it by the nganga (ritual specialist), is increased tenfold through the dual charge emerging on the topmost part of the head and on the abdomen, and through the visual impact of the long indigenous iron inserted in the bust. In the subtlety of the rendering of anatomical details, the sculptor has enhanced the idealized criteria of Kongo beauty: a full mouth with delicately curled lips, a long nose, fine, arched eyebrows framing eyes finely set with porcelain, and ears with detailed auriculae. The rare naturalism of the body is accentuated by the full figured outlines, delineating curvaceous limbs, highlighted by the beautifully nuanced brown and red patina. In this superbly accomplished contrast between the incarnation of power and that of beauty, the artist expresses the full complexity of these nkisi-nkonde statues, "ambivalent and multifunctional (objects, which) can attack, yet also protect and heal" (Felix, Art & Kongos, 1995, p. 67).
Raoul Lehuard, in his prominent book Art Bakongo, les centres de style (1898, vol. 2, p. 613), places this statue within the style developed by the Solongo, a Kongo people living in the region of the mouth of the Congo River. The archetype of this narrow sculptural corpus, now preserved in the Tervuren Museum, was collected at the beginning of the 20th century by H. Janssen, in the village of Nemlao. It is joined by two statues from Dr. Etienne Lopé’s collection - with the first inegrating the Lafaille Museum collections in la Rochelle in 1954, and the second presented here.
Whilst the telema lwimbanganga pose - a sacred stance adopted by the Kongo nobility and diviners as a sign of absolute authority - is emphasized by the exaggeration of the right arm holding a weapon, the active power conferred on it by the nganga (ritual specialist), is increased tenfold through the dual charge emerging on the topmost part of the head and on the abdomen, and through the visual impact of the long indigenous iron inserted in the bust. In the subtlety of the rendering of anatomical details, the sculptor has enhanced the idealized criteria of Kongo beauty: a full mouth with delicately curled lips, a long nose, fine, arched eyebrows framing eyes finely set with porcelain, and ears with detailed auriculae. The rare naturalism of the body is accentuated by the full figured outlines, delineating curvaceous limbs, highlighted by the beautifully nuanced brown and red patina. In this superbly accomplished contrast between the incarnation of power and that of beauty, the artist expresses the full complexity of these nkisi-nkonde statues, "ambivalent and multifunctional (objects, which) can attack, yet also protect and heal" (Felix, Art & Kongos, 1995, p. 67).