Old and eroded example of an Ancestor sculpture from the Hemba peoples of the DRC / Congo, central Africa. The sculpture is of a Chief or Ancestral Spirit. Not every Hemba chief was honored with such a depiction. Such commissions were divinely sanctioned when a sitting chief was visited in a dream by one of his predecessors and this was interpreted as a sign that a singiti figure should be carved in that individual’s honor. Hemba artists emphasized two bodily passages of such representations – the head as the site of one’s intellect where knowledge is taken in through the eyes and the stomach where the umbilicus is the point of connection with one’s extended lineage. A Hemba chief inherited a series of such works that were housed in a dedicated structure centrally located in the community adjacent to his residence. Although the talents of the most gifted Hemba artists were drawn upon for such creations, historically only their caretaker and the ancestors had access to the works.Carved wood with well weathered patina and some obvious age and handling. Measures 23 inches tall on wooden base.

One arm reattached by earlier collector. Heavily eroded. fair / stable condition.