A Mangbetu male figure

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A Mangbetu male figure
standing with the arms carved free of the body and hands held at the sides, the legs apart on large feet (some toes chipped), the long head with engraved blackened coiffure, brows, moustache and beard, a line of dots at the centre of the forehead, blond patina with blackened pubic hair -- 49cm. high

Lot Essay

This unusual figure appears to be related to those carved at the courts of the Mangbetu kings at the beginning of this century (See Schildkrout, E., and Keim, C.A., African Reflections, New York, 1990) It may have been carved as a caricature for such a king as Okondo.

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