134 - Yombe statue, Kongo, Republic of the Congo
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Estimate €3,000 - €4,000

Description

Yombe statue, Kongo, Republic of the Congo Naturalistic depiction of motherhood, carved from light wood. H. 31 cm Early 20th century (damage and missing parts; the child is split into three sections) The acquisition of this work in the early 20th century is documented by a first-hand literary account: in his book *Fièvres d’Afrique*, the writer Louis Charbonneau recounts in detail the circumstances in which it was presented to him. Bibliography: Little, R. (2016). ‘The Mambu Doll, or: An Early 20th-Century African Sculptor Identified and Localised Thanks to the Writings of Louis Charbonneau’. *Études littéraires africaines*, (42), pp. 141–150. Excerpts: Towards the end of his life, Louis Charbonneau (1865–1951), a merchant and prospector in West and South-West Africa between 1888 and 1922, presented a wooden statuette to Raymond Escholier, his friend in literary circles and the author of the foreword to the story ‘Mambu and His Love’, which won the Grand Prix de littérature coloniale in 1925. At the beginning of his book *Fièvres d’Afrique*, in a page from his diary dated 12 February [19]22, Charbonneau recounts his reunion with a woodcarver: Charbonneau, L. (2014). *Fièvres d’Afrique*, followed by three previously unpublished stories. Introduction by Roger Little in collaboration with Claude Achard. L’Harmattan, Autrement Mêmes, pp. 11–12 ‘“For you, my friend, who listens to me when I speak… who asks without demanding to learn about the M’Bas, I give you my basika, which you’ve always wanted to buy! I’ve told you, she’s the girl of my heart… The little one she’s holding in her hands is now Lumbo, who helps me walk and tends my fire!… Look at Lumbo… his head is round like mine… he’ll be a man like me… So, I’m teaching him everything there is to know about the M’Bas!” Devoutly, as was only right, I clutched the basika the child was holding—which I’d coveted for so long—close to my chest, and I almost ran away for fear that the Mandemba might one day regret his kind gesture. A fibre cap, an ivory horn and a yellow mavungu statuette—pure gems of the primitive art of an ancient people—to possess you is good, but to know your history is better!… ” This page is dated 1922, but it forms part of a collection entitled ‘Fifteen Years After Mambu’ and of the letters he wrote to Raymond Escholier or to his wife, Marie-Louise, Charbonneau refers more than once to ‘Mambu’s doll’. (…) By 1922, Charbonneau had already given in to emotional memories and nostalgia for his partner: from his writings, we can deduce that Mambu died in 1906 and her doll must therefore predate that. It would therefore be the oldest African sculpture that can be attributed to an individual, in this case named Kumboté. We can also locate it with equal precision: in the village of Ganda, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we can be certain that it belonged to the M’Ba-Sundi people – a certainty reinforced by the fact that a map from 1913 shows a village named Ganda-Sundi, a name it still bears today. Mr Roger Little’s comprehensive publication can be provided in PDF format on request at the office. Paperback copies of *Fièvres d’Afrique* and *Mambu et son Amour* are available for consultation at the office and will be handed over to the successful bidder.

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About the sale WORKS OF ART – SILVERWARE – WINES – PAINTINGS – JEWELLERY – WATCHES – FURNITURE

Auction location

Auction time 10/28/2026 at 9:30 AM

Ref. : 3956 - 1

Pictures modified on 10/19/2026 at 1:46 PM

Lot description modified on 10/19/2026 at 1:46 PM

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134 - Yombe statue, Kongo, Republic of the Congo See original version (French)

134 - Yombe statue, Kongo, Republic of the Congo
See original version (French)