Ancestor statue - Buyu Sikasingo - DR Congo

The Buyu statues, also called Sikasingo, come from the Tabwa and Buyu peoples settled around Lake Tanganyika, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Zambia. These wooden sculptures, often small in size, are distinguished by their austere, majestic posture and expressive features: oval faces, globular eyes, and stylized hairstyles or scarifications. Their aesthetics, both sober and powerful, reflect a search for balance between realism and symbolism.

These statues typically embody ancestors, protective spirits, or local deities. They play a central role in rituals of protection, healing, or legitimization of power. Placed on altars or used by diviners, they serve as mediators between the living and the unseen world, reinforcing social cohesion and the transmission of traditional knowledge.

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Based in Belgium, our expertise and sales house specializes in African art and ethnography. A leading seller on Catawiki for more than 8 years, we enjoy a solid reputation and a track record of several hundred sales with an almost 100% satisfaction rate.

We regularly assist with liquidations, successions, and dispersals of collections, in collaboration with individuals and families in Belgium and neighboring countries. Our approach is rigorous, transparent, and accessible, with many sales offered without reserve prices.

Some pieces that have passed through our hands have joined international private collections and, for some, museum institutions.

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