.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Cette statue Luba tronquée, au port altier, s’élève fièrement d’une base carrée. Son torse cylindrique, aux scarifications traditionnelles délicatement sculptées, est contrebalancé par deux bras arc-boutés. Sa tête, s’apparentant à un casque très stylisé, arbore trois rangées de tresses finement sculptées et un creux sommital réservé à accueillir une charge magique ; les yeux sertis de perles blanches confèrent à l’effigie son magnétisme. Sa patine profonde et suintante atteste de manipulations itératives. Cette statue a captivé d’éminents collectionneurs : Ruth et Ernst Anspach, puis Myron Kunin, en furent ses propriétaires successifs.
Pour un exemple analogue, au traitement similaire réservé à la tête, voir celle de l’ancienne collection Jo Christiaens, Bonhams, New York, 13 novembre 2007, lot 2244, ou encore celle de la collection Nicole et John Dintenfass publiée dans Petridis, C., Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Bruxelles, 2008, p. 51, n° 30.
This truncated Luba statue, with its haughty stance, rises proudly from a square base. Its cylindrical torso, featuring delicately sculpted traditional scarification marks, is balanced by two arched arms. Its head, resembling a highly stylised helmet, has three rows of finely sculpted braids and a hollowed top to hold a magical charge; the eyes set with white beads convey its magnetism to the effigy. Its deep, oozing patina attests to repeated handling. This statue attracted eminent collectors - Ruth and Ernst Anspach and Myron Kunin owned it in turn.
For analogous examples, with a similar treatment of the head, see the one from the former Jo Christiaens collection (Bonhams, New York, 13 November 2007, lot 2244), and the one from the Nicole and John Dintenfass collection published in Petridis, C., Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Brussels, 2008, p. 51, no. 30.
Pour un exemple analogue, au traitement similaire réservé à la tête, voir celle de l’ancienne collection Jo Christiaens, Bonhams, New York, 13 novembre 2007, lot 2244, ou encore celle de la collection Nicole et John Dintenfass publiée dans Petridis, C., Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Bruxelles, 2008, p. 51, n° 30.
This truncated Luba statue, with its haughty stance, rises proudly from a square base. Its cylindrical torso, featuring delicately sculpted traditional scarification marks, is balanced by two arched arms. Its head, resembling a highly stylised helmet, has three rows of finely sculpted braids and a hollowed top to hold a magical charge; the eyes set with white beads convey its magnetism to the effigy. Its deep, oozing patina attests to repeated handling. This statue attracted eminent collectors - Ruth and Ernst Anspach and Myron Kunin owned it in turn.
For analogous examples, with a similar treatment of the head, see the one from the former Jo Christiaens collection (Bonhams, New York, 13 November 2007, lot 2244), and the one from the Nicole and John Dintenfass collection published in Petridis, C., Art and Power in the Central African Savanna, Brussels, 2008, p. 51, no. 30.