Reliquary Maginga

Lega · Democratic Republic of the Congo

Reference: RLC-14

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Height
49 cm
Material
Wood and pigments

Statues with overlapping heads representing the different degrees within the “Bwamé” society. It can also represent the elephant hunter who requests the help of another hunter.…

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Full original description

Statues with overlapping heads representing the different degrees within the “Bwamé” society. It can also represent the elephant hunter who requests the help of another hunter. They are used in initiation. Sometimes they are enigmatic statues that contain a proverb that must be deciphered or a story about an ancestor.

Statue that presents another face at the height of the belly like that of the head. She wears a raffia skirt and skin. A hole in the back of her head to contain the magic or medicinal substances or the relic of an ancestor.

Further technical information
Attributed period
Mid-century XX or earlier.

Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.

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Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.

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Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.

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