Figure - Kakudji - Luba - DR Congo

• Kakudji statue

• Ethnicity: Luba/Kusu

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Dimensions: 33.5 × 13 cm

• Weight: 1.040 kg

• Materials: wood, horn, bone, antelope hide, trade beads, tapestry nails

• Period: late 19th/early 20th century

• Provenance: former German collection; Lot No. 328 of the 91st tribal art sale by Zemanek-Münster auction house (2019); former Austrian collection

— Kakudji fetishes exist among several ethnic groups such as the Luba and Kusu, which makes precise identification difficult. According to Marc Léo Félix, these statuettes are actually called "munsinju" and are mounted on a steel spear or kept in a basket by Nganga fetish priests. The height of this Kakudji figure leaves no doubt and belongs to the first category Marc Léo Félix discusses and should therefore have been mounted on a metal spear in the ground.
The top of the figure has preserved its "bijimba" (fetish material) in its headdress, so material should still be present there (see photo No. 5)

— Some photographs of similar figures with their magical charges are attached to photos No. 6, having belonged to Alan Mann, London, UK; No. 7. Marcel Dumoulin, Brussels B. photo circa 1930 and No. 8. African runner, 1978
Photo source: JSTOR

— With its eyes made from two tapestry nails, it can be compared to the Kusu figure by Pierre Dartevelle that was sold on June 8, 2022 at Sotheby’s. (lot 13) (see photos No. 9 and No. 10)
Photo source: Sotheby’s

— This Kakudji figure is sold with its base (see photo No. 4)

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— Carefully packed, insured delivery with tracking number (Bpost)