African sculpture from the Luba, Congo. Hand carved from a single piece wood. Height: 24 cm. The Luba (Baluba in Chiluba) are a people from Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu River, hence the name (Baluba, meaning “the Lubas”). They were born from a secession of the Songhoy ethnic group, led by Ilunga Kalala, who executed the ancient King Kongolo, since venerated in the form of a python. In the 16th century they created a state, organized into decentralized chiefdoms, stretching from the Kasai River to Lake Tanganyika. The chiefdoms cover a small area without any real border, uniting a maximum of three villages. The vast Luba territory, comprising the entire southeastern part of the DRC, as far as Tanganyika and Lake Mweru, is uniform as regards language and culture, but racially mixed. Although the history of the Luba people is one of violence and warfare, their artistic style is characterized by harmonious integration of organically related forms. The splendid artistic achievements of the Luba are due to a felicitous intermingling of different racial and cultural elements, and to the high standards prevailing at the court. Luba arts counts amongst the finest that Africa has to offer. Artists occupied a privileged place in the hierarchy. The Luba artist carried a ceremonial ax on his shoulder, an emblem of prestige and of dignity of his position. Some apprentices would be recruited from among the deformed, who could neither hunt nor be warriors and who were believed to have a close connection.