Tribal Art

This game of the awalé type from the mancala family has a hollow deck of twenty-four cells, arranged in four rows. Stones, seeds, pebbles or even shells formed the pawns. The feet are formed of figurative motifs and sculpted subjects frame the whole. Black brown patina, cracks.
Among the Mangbetu, from an early age, children also suffered compression of the cranial box held tight by raffia ties. Later, young women "knit" their hair on wicker strands and apply a headband to the forehead in order to bring out the hair and constitute this particular headdress which accentuates the elongation of the head. Established in the forest in the northeast of Zaire, the Mangbetu kingdom produced architectural works that impressed European visitors in the 19th century. Their furniture, weapons, ornaments and statuary were imbued with a rare aesthetic quality.