African art figure representing the queen of the Bakongo. This wooden statuette from the Bakongo people is 33 cm high. Carried atop the back of a turtle this Bakongo queen also has a lizard on here head, giving here special powers associated with those animals.
The turtle is a symbol of female fertility. The lizard arrived first, thus establishing the mortal nature of humans.
This Bacongo figure has a shiny patina, and good age, I would date it around 1930-50.
H= 33 cm
provenance: Gaethan Schoonbroodt collection, Vervier.
- Object
- Ancestor figure
- Indigenous object name
- Nkishi
- Ethnic group/ culture
- Bakongo
- Region/ country
- Congo DRC
- Material
- Wood
- Period
- Mid 20th century
- Condition
- Vintage - used with visible signs of wear
- Sold with stand
- No
- Dimensions
- 33×8×10 cm