The Horstmann Bena Lulua figure, Congo.

Around 1900. Warm restored patina, restored tip of the coiffe, wood, 11 cm high. As a dynamic sculptural masterpiece, this Bena Lulua figure ist one of the earliest published and exhibited. With the extensive publication and the early exhibiton history, including the first mayor exhibition on Congo art by Frans Olbrechts in 1937, this Bena Lulua combines all the elements of the mastery of the Bena Lulua sculptors. The overemphasized scarifications are exaggerated into an array of abstract protrusions, giving the sculpture its movement. Like the Nsapo Nsapo, these figures were made during the first extensive contacts with Europeans, carved both for own use and for trade. Early collected by the Scheut Missionaries, this figure is a paramount example of the artistry of Bena Lulua masters. Petridis 128): 'In all the figures related to this cult, the notion of beauty and goodness was expressed through anatomy as well as scarification and other forms of skin beautification. Thus, long necks, large heads and high foreheads were considered signs of beauty. (...) The naturalistic imitation of an umbilical hernia also symbolized the close bond between the ancestors and their descendants, and the succession of generations.' (VJ) Collected by the Scheut Missionaries 1886-1936, Anderlecht; Drawing Frans Olbrechts for the 1937 exhibition 'Congo' in Antwerpen; Published: Leon Siroto 'African spirit, images and identities' New York 1976;'Close up', 1989-1990, no. 28, p. 109; Dieter Scharf 'Sehen lernen - Eine Sammlung afrikanischer Figuren', 1999, p. 13-15.