Janus-Headed Power Figure - Butti - Teke - DR Congo (No reserve price)
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€ 3
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Selected by Julien Gauthier
A decade of experience in historical arms, armour, and African art.
Estimate € 150 - € 200
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Janus-Headed Power Figure, a late 20th‑century wooden Butti from the Teke people of the DR Congo, provenance Private collection; measures 35 cm high, 15 cm wide, 12 cm deep, and weighs 900 g, in good condition.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
This janiform power figure, emerging from the sculptural traditions of the Teke peoples along the Malebo Pool region of the Congo basin, exemplifies the synthesis of anthropomorphic carving and ritual accumulation characteristic of Central African spiritual statuary. The sculpture is anchored by a back-to-back dual visage surmounted by an arching, crest-form coiffure, an insignia worn by figures of elevated status and spiritual authority. The two countenances are carved with rigorous symmetry, distinguished by domed foreheads, protruding semicircular ears, and half-closed, heavy-lidded eyes set above delicate vertical striations incised into the cheeks. This dual-directional orientation embodies the heightened visual acuity required of a diviner or chief, capable of looking simultaneously outward toward the mundane sphere and inward toward the ancestral realm.
The body yields its conventional anatomy to a voluminous, spherical ventral mass enveloped in tightly stretched textile and bound with twisted vegetal fiber cordage. This bulbous core encloses the consecrated ritual charge, a composite of secret earths, resins, and organic materials assembled by the ritual specialist to endow the vessel with apotropaic and curative agency. Affixed at the center of the abdomen is an embedded mirror cavity within an encrusted resin matrix; serving as a metaphorical threshold, the reflective surface was intended to detect malevolent spiritual intrusion and blind malevolent entities.
Suspended from the fiber bindings are supplementary charms, including an intact bovid horn talisman and a gathered medicine pouch, accentuating its accumulative, active character. Supported by angular, semi-flexed legs resting on broad, flat feet, the timber exhibits an oxidized, dry patina imbued with traces of consecrated washes and handling, bearing a stable, vertical shrinkage fissure traversing one facial plane and minor friability to the textile consistent with prolonged ceremonial keeping.
PROVENANCE
Property from the Estate of a German biologist and naturalist (1948–2012).
Thence by descent to the present owner.
This janiform power figure, emerging from the sculptural traditions of the Teke peoples along the Malebo Pool region of the Congo basin, exemplifies the synthesis of anthropomorphic carving and ritual accumulation characteristic of Central African spiritual statuary. The sculpture is anchored by a back-to-back dual visage surmounted by an arching, crest-form coiffure, an insignia worn by figures of elevated status and spiritual authority. The two countenances are carved with rigorous symmetry, distinguished by domed foreheads, protruding semicircular ears, and half-closed, heavy-lidded eyes set above delicate vertical striations incised into the cheeks. This dual-directional orientation embodies the heightened visual acuity required of a diviner or chief, capable of looking simultaneously outward toward the mundane sphere and inward toward the ancestral realm.
The body yields its conventional anatomy to a voluminous, spherical ventral mass enveloped in tightly stretched textile and bound with twisted vegetal fiber cordage. This bulbous core encloses the consecrated ritual charge, a composite of secret earths, resins, and organic materials assembled by the ritual specialist to endow the vessel with apotropaic and curative agency. Affixed at the center of the abdomen is an embedded mirror cavity within an encrusted resin matrix; serving as a metaphorical threshold, the reflective surface was intended to detect malevolent spiritual intrusion and blind malevolent entities.
Suspended from the fiber bindings are supplementary charms, including an intact bovid horn talisman and a gathered medicine pouch, accentuating its accumulative, active character. Supported by angular, semi-flexed legs resting on broad, flat feet, the timber exhibits an oxidized, dry patina imbued with traces of consecrated washes and handling, bearing a stable, vertical shrinkage fissure traversing one facial plane and minor friability to the textile consistent with prolonged ceremonial keeping.
PROVENANCE
Property from the Estate of a German biologist and naturalist (1948–2012).
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Details
Indigenous object name
Butti
Ethnic group/ culture
Teke
Country of Origin
DR Congo
Period
Late 20th century
Material
Wood
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Good condition
Title of artwork
Janus-Headed Power Figure
Height
35 cm
Width
15 cm
Depth
12 cm
Weight
900 g
Provenance
Private collection
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