CONGO DRC

BEAUTIFUL CEREMONIAL AXE LUBA

Cephalomorph axe, very beautiful patina of use
Representative of the style of the Middle Luvua Workshops (Eastern Lubas) See Neyt, 1993, pages 114 and 115

Figurative axes and adzes are prestigious objects owned by those in power (kings, chiefs) as well as members of the Mbudye and mediums.

They are worn across the shoulder

Like other regalia, axes solidify alliances, settle debts, transfer political authority and close disputes (Roberts & Roberts, page 44)

The Luba are a great people in eastern DRC.
Their caryatid seats, their cup holders, chiefs' sticks, arrow holders, adzes and ancestral statues are very famous and among the most valued objects in African Art.

Characteristics:

TYPE OF OBJECT:  Axe

ETHNICAL GROUP: Luba

ORIGINE: Congo Drc

MATERIAL: Wood. metal (copper)

DIMENSIONS: About 17 1/2 inches high (44.5 cm)
CONDITION: Fair, two upholstery nails are missing from the headdress

Please have a look on the pictures.

 The base is NOT included

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BIBLIOGRAPHIE - BIBLIOGRAPHY :

"Le kaolin sacré et les porteuses de coupe Luba, par Pierre Petit du CNRS, pages 97 -110

- LUBA, aux sources du Zaïre, François NEYT, Editions du Musée Dapper, 1993

- LUBA, Visions d'Afrique, Editions 5 Continents, Mary Nooter Roberts et Allen F. Roberts, 2006
- MEMORY, Luba Art and the Making of History, Mary Nooter Roberts, 1996