Material Wood
Dimensions 86,5 x 20 x 20 cm
Place of Creation Republic Democratic of the Congo
Status Vetted

About the Work

The Hemba sculpture we present is an exceptional example of the artistic tradition of this people from the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Hemba, known for their skills as farmers and hunters, created ancestor statues that played a crucial role in their spiritual and social rituals. These sculptures, with a strong symbolic charge, represent the veneration of ancestors and serve as objects of power and authority within the community.


The Hemba people mainly inhabit the southeastern region of present-day Congo, in an area bordering the Luba. Although the Hemba have their own cultural and aesthetic legacy, their sculptures share some similarities with those of the Luba, which has caused confusion in the identification and cataloging of these pieces in the West until the late 20th century.


The typical Hemba sculpture, like the one described here, is a male figure standing on a circular base. The body has distinctive stylistic features: the legs are relatively short, the torso is elongated, and the hands rest on the abdomen, suggesting an attitude of serenity and power. The head is particularly prominent, being large in proportion to the body, crowned with a hairstyle that extends backward. This hairstyle, complex and symbolic, reflects the status of the individual represented, who could have been a leader or a revered ancestor within the community.

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Provenance

Mia van Bussel collection, Amsterdam
Kevin Conru collection, Brussels

Literature

Schaedler, Karl - Ferdinand. Lexikon der Afrikanischen Kunst. Munich, 1994, p. 242

View artwork at TEFAF Maastricht 2025

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