Tribal Art

Male figure hollowed out halfway up, and whose lid is made up of the upper part of the body. The subject offers arms whose reduced size contrasts with the otherwise robust morphology. The features of the face, very stretched, are sculpted in low relief under a hat-shaped headdress. Shiny mahogany patina, desiccation cracks.
Of Lunda origin, the Lwena, Luena, emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, repelled by the Chokwe. When some became slave traders, others, the Lovale, found refuge in Zambia. Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena became known for their sculptures embodying figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks linked to the initiation rites of the mukanda . Their sculpture was largely influenced by that of the Chokwe.