Information
Janus figure.
Hardwood with a dark glaze, old fractures.
This depicts a Janus figure sculpted in a “cubist” style, an unusual technique in the Luba and Hemba tradition. The bodies, with a gap in between them, are sitting on a circular base, held together by a series of geometric volumes.The face evokes the classical figures of the groups of the eastern Congo.The receptacle on the head was used as a container for magical substances, which are still present in part.
Provenance
Collection of Walter Schwab, Bern (inv. WS 514) (2000);