Cup holder - Mboko - Luba - DR Congo

Mboko cup-bearer, Luba
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Height: 44 cm
Presumed age: 1930s
Weight: 2800 g
Condition: Stress cracks under both knees of the mboko, minor losses.
provenance: collection of the White Fathers - Antwerp; collection of Heinrich Westerdijk - Netherlands (circa 1960); Belgian private collection

The Mboko figures or cup-bearers of the Luba and their various sub-groups and neighbors all share the same concept: a woman kneeling, crouching, and even sometimes standing, holding a bowl, a cup, or a vessel in front of her and rarely also on her head. Here, the bowl, lined with white clay, rests on her bare legs, stretched in front of her and leaning against her turned feet. The body is that of a young woman of strong build. She has a disc-shaped coiffure with a broad band across the forehead, revealing a lively and intense face with finely sculpted features. In particular, the wide-open eyes are rendered perfectly, as are the nose and lips. She has triangular scarifications across most of her torso and wears three Mpunduji (blue) Luba beads around her neck. A fine natural dark brown patina directly on the very dense surface of the hardwood. A very lively woman with a lot of youthful charm.

Sold with its handwritten certificate of authenticity signed by Mr. Peter Westerdijk.

Mr. Heinrich Westerdijk was a major collector of African art as well as a passionate enthusiast of tribal weapons about which he wrote one of the very first books on the subject, titled "ijzerwerk van Centraal-Afrika"; you can see the cover of it in the last photograph.

Careful and insured delivery with tracking number