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Description
LUMBU
Reliquary
20th century.
Height: 58 cm.
An IR spectroscopy dating certificate (G. Matthaes patent) from the Museo d’Arte e Scienza, Milan, no. 6AF-3648, indicates the date as 1955 ± 6 years.
Hardwood covered with a worn kaolin patina; the bundle is wrapped in jute fabric and bound with cord.
The elegantly sculpted female bust, featuring the finely twisted plaits characteristic of the Lumbu culture, rests upon a bundle of woven plant fibres, secured by a network of cords and containing bone fragments from the clan’s prestigious ancestors.
Provenance:
Pierre Redouin Collection.
Bibliography:
Published in *Le Souffle des Esprits*, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, Pierre & Hadrien Redouin, 2012, p. 135.
Description:
The headdress featuring ‘fine plaits’ is the most characteristic feature of the Lumbu. Unlike the rigid headdresses of the Punu (comprising between one and five massive shells), the Lumbu create fine plaits or braids that fall down either side of the face or towards the back. This hairstyle reflects the actual hairstyles of Lumbu women in the late 19th century.
This ensemble, a material embodiment of the link between the living and the dead, was at the heart of ancestor worship (Bwiti or other forms of family-based worship). The clan chief or nganga used this reliquary to seek advice, protection or fertility from the spirits of the clan’s ancestors.
The female figure emphasises the importance of matrilineality among the Lumbu (just as it does among the Punu). Women pass on life and, by extension, the bloodline across generations.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
The Breath of the Spirits: The Collection of Pierre Redouin and Others
Auction location
Auction time
09/24/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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