Luba Shankadi prestige stool, Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 1900.
This ornate stool belonged to a Luba chief. Luba leaders trace their ancestry to a dynasty of sacred kings, and Luba royal seats are intended to replicate an original seat of office owned by the progenitor of this divine lineage. Despite their functional form, royal stools are never used for sitting but are sacred reagalia preserved within a king’s palace. They serve as metaphorical, not literal, seats of kingship. The design of Luba ‘seats of leadership’ may either be abstract or figurative. Those incorporating female caryatids give expression to the Luba conception of the female body as a spiritual receptacle that supports divine kingship. The aesthetic refinement of the female body through elaborate skin ornamentation and coiffure serves as a metaphor for the civilization and refinement that Luba rulers disseminate within society. 50,5 x 26,5 cm. Light wood.
Provenance:
English private collection.
Sotheby’s London, 1980, lot 166.
Kevin Conru, Brussels.
Private Belgian Collection. (VJ)
Specialist: Joris Visser
Joris Visser
+32-2-514 00 34
Joris.Visser@dorotheum.com
31.10.2017 - 14:00
- Estimate:
-
EUR 10,000.- to EUR 12,000.-
Luba Shankadi prestige stool, Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 1900.
This ornate stool belonged to a Luba chief. Luba leaders trace their ancestry to a dynasty of sacred kings, and Luba royal seats are intended to replicate an original seat of office owned by the progenitor of this divine lineage. Despite their functional form, royal stools are never used for sitting but are sacred reagalia preserved within a king’s palace. They serve as metaphorical, not literal, seats of kingship. The design of Luba ‘seats of leadership’ may either be abstract or figurative. Those incorporating female caryatids give expression to the Luba conception of the female body as a spiritual receptacle that supports divine kingship. The aesthetic refinement of the female body through elaborate skin ornamentation and coiffure serves as a metaphor for the civilization and refinement that Luba rulers disseminate within society. 50,5 x 26,5 cm. Light wood.
Provenance:
English private collection.
Sotheby’s London, 1980, lot 166.
Kevin Conru, Brussels.
Private Belgian Collection. (VJ)
Specialist: Joris Visser
Joris Visser
+32-2-514 00 34
Joris.Visser@dorotheum.com
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| Auction: | Tribal Art - Source - Tribal and Curiosity Sale |
| Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
| Date: | 31.10.2017 - 14:00 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 25.10. - 31.10.2017 |