Tribal Art

This bed consists of a concave board established on four legs, a sculpted neck support acting as a pillow. The effigy in the round adorning the head of the bed probably represents the tribal chief Chibinda Ilunga, hunter and mythical hero, founder of the Chokwé ethnic group, wearing the cipenya-mutwe, the objects being decorated of this figure having a protective function. The contours are inlaid with upholstery nails.
Brown patina encrusted with ochre.
Native restorations. Desication erosions and cracks.
Peacefully settled in eastern Angola until the 16th century, the Chokwé were then subjected to the Lunda empire from which they inherited a new hierarchical system and the sacredness of power. Nevertheless, the Chokwé never fully adopted these new social and political contributions. Three centuries later, they ended up seizing the capital of the Lunda weakened by internal conflicts, thus contributing to the dismantling of the kingdom. The Chokwé did not have centralized power but large chiefdoms. They were the ones who attracted artists wishing to put their know-how at the exclusive service of the court. The artists created so many varied pieces and of such quality that the Lunda court only employed them. From the 18th century, exchanges with Europeans, the Portuguese in particular, influenced their sculptures.