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Sitting Figure Stool A caryatid stool features a head emerging from the top of the seat, with its lower half showing a more faded patina than the upper part. The seat is decorated with embedded coins. The Tabwa caryatid figure is unique and part of the royal regalia, serving as a vessel for the high-ranking ruler's spirit.
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Red and Blue Decorated Wall Panel with Chameleon A polychrome wall panel displays a stylized sculpture figure and a chameleon in the center, flanked by decorative red and blue geometric patterns. The panel's stylized, high-relief designs serve as a visual language found in stories or proverbs related to the initiation process. Such panels may be used to teach moral and social values to young adolescents who are about to be initiated.
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Sitting Female Figure A seated female figure is overall covered with a darkened patina. The Baule people believe that every man or woman has a "spouse" in the spirit world—an individual with a name revealed through divination. Geometric scarification on her torso, chest, upper arms, and face, accompanied by a smooth, raised hairstyle, is typically shown in images of spirit wives.
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Prestige Stool A prestige stool depicts two identical female figures with their arms raised and facing outward. Their prominently stylized breasts and scarification along their extended arms highlight the female body's vital role as a spiritual vessel that embodies divine kinship in Luba society. The artistic refinement of the female form through intricate skin decoration and hairstyle symbolizes the civilization and sophistication that Luba rulers promote within their community. Although it was designed as a stool, it has also been used as a sacred emblem stored in a king's palace.
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Decorated Wooden Face Mask The Kuba Mukyeem mask is is intricately decorated with various materials, such as the glass beads creating facial features and patterns throughout the mask, along with the cowrie shells coating the surface. The protrusion from the forehead resembles an elephant's trunk, establishing a sense of power and stability for the masker. This mask was to be worn during an important ceremony recounting the Kuab creation myth. According to the myth, the first human known as "Shyaam" was the the creator of the Kuba Dynasty and civilization.
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Elongated Figurative Statue An elongated, figurative statue featuring short, bowed legs and a long torso. Its head is triangular with a deep, angled ornament on top and flat facial features. It is highly stylized and used at the end of ceremonies, following the masquerades. It may represent an ancestor figure.
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Hanged Figure A figurative sculpture depicting a hanged man with arms tied behind his back. Facial features are exaggerated and stylized, with a fiber headdress on top of his head. This sculpture is seen as a cult figure that could be used to warn criminals who might face the fearful penalty for their unethical actions.
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Ceremonial Chair with Triangle Patterning The Tawba ceremonial chair is highly decorated with triangular patterning surround the base of the chair and back side. The bust at the top of the seat has thinly carved scarification patterns and a stylized coiffure. The neck of the bust blends seamlessly into the seat, connecting the two objects as one. The seat has several marks and scratches, showing the chair was most likely functional as well as decorative.
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Kholuka Mask The Yaka "kholuka" mask is carved of wood with raffia surrounding the head. The nose is turned upward, the mouth is open with individually articulated teeth, and the face is brightly painted creating an expressive image. This facial construction is used to depict Yaka sexualtiy and spirituality. Atop the head is lizard constructed of tightly joined fabric pieces, covered in pigment of similar coloration to the face. The mask is representative of those used during initiation rituals like the "n-khanda" ceremony marking the transition from boy to man.
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Pwo Mask The Chokwe Pwo, or Mwana Pwo mask is made of wood with both white kaolin and a oils to patinate the surface. The eyes are narrow in large sockets, with scarification patterns running downward over the cheeks to signify tears. This mask resembles a maternal figure in a highly emotional male initiation ceremony. The mouth is wide, with teeth lining the top and bottom lip. Under the mouth, the chin juts outwards with a rounded edge. Atop the head, a hairstyle of beads drapes downward, connected to the forehead by a thin line of cowrie shells.
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Large Carved Wooden Vessel The large vessel is carved of wood with a dark patina, along with red pigment and white kaolin on the surface. Thinly incised lines cover the surface of the vessel creating intricate patterns. The lid has two busts of a chicken on either side of a cylindrical handle. The chicken may be in reference to animal sacrifice, as the killing of the chicken during rituals was commonly understood to protect from illness and other troubles.
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Figure in Patinated Wood The male figure is carved from one piece of wood, as if stemming from the rounded base beneath its feet. The figure is thin with a vertical emphasis. Common characteristics of Dogon sculpture can be seen through the bend in the knees and the turned head. Carved statues such as the one pictured were often ancestral figures placed on altars.
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Buffalo Mask with Elongated Horns Kiyunde (buffalo) mask with elongated horns flaring out on both sides and a squared-off snout with shell eyes. It represents the male wild buffalo and is connected to ideas of strength, leadership, and cultural heroes.
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Wooden Stool with Head Shape The Luba stool is carved of wood, with metal pins lining the base and seat. Thin sheets of metal can be seen on the base of the stool and on the seat in line with the front of the figure. These metal sheets may have been used to repair cracks in the wood. The figure is seated with its elbows resting on its knees, and hands cuffing around the ears. Female genitalia can be seen on the figure, along with colorful glass beads wrapping around the waist. They elbows and glabella have been decorated with metal pins. The face of the figure has a horizontal emphasis, with narrow eyes and a thin, wide mouth. This highly decorated Luba stool was most likely used by those in leadership roles. Stools of such a style were often used as decoration, however this stool appears to have some wear as noted by the metal sheets.
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Bronze Crucifix The bronze crucifix was used as a symbol of chiefdom in the Kongo society, also seen as a symbol of spiritual power. The cross shape and representation of Christ was informed by earlier European versions.The crucifix has four figures; Christ in the center and three praying figures surrounding him. The placement of the figures is quite common in the Kongo depictions of the crucifix. The depiction of Christ in this crucifix reflects the imagery and aesthetics of the Kongo style, as seen by the modeling of the body and coiffure.
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Stylized Figure Drum A figure with a stylized body holds up a cylindrical drum, marked with bands of geometric patterns all over its surface. It could be used during ritual ceremonies, mainly at burials and memorial celebrations. It always belongs to the community, not an individual.
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Narrow Copper Plated Mask The copper plated mask has a vertical emphasis, forming a narrow face. Two small wooden horns are attached to the front of the forehead, and three thin rods hang below the brow bone with small tassels. The facial features and overall formation of the mask is reminiscent of the Bambara and Marka "Ngolo" or "N'tomo" masks, which have a ceremonial function, providing strength and protection.
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One Armed Standing Figure Wooden standing male figure with white kaolin, heart-shaped face. The figure has one arm extended upward and the other appears to have been excluded from the design intentionally.The central abdomen is flat, carved into a board like shape. When used in ceremonies, the figure may have small holes carved into the abdomen. This object would have been within one of two baskets among other wooden figures for initiation ceremonies.
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Contrasting Patinaed Face Mask The Kumu face mask is composed of strong geometric forms and contrasting patinas. The surface is primarily coated in white kaolin, with dark wooden lines creating a grid-like formation. Light blue forms reflect one another to create symmetrical balance above the minimalistic facial features. Thinly carved scarification patterns can be seen on either side of the face, descending from the corners of the nose. This pattern can be seen on many Kumu masks from the time period.
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Wooden Mask with Angled Lines The mask is carved of wood with incised lines marking facial scarification patterns typical to the Azande style. The eyes are small, hollow ovular forms, and the mouth is rectangular with small wooden teeth inlaid along the edges. A band of three lines wraps around the forehead, a second band runs vertically towards the back of the head.
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Copper Plated Mask The Salampasu Mukinka mask has various recognizable features such as the bulging forehead, sunken eyes and sharp teeth. The mask is covered in copper plates, forming a hard surface. The mask was to be worn during ceremonies honoring brave warriors.
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Lega Mask The Lega mask has a vertical emphasis formed by the narrow face and long, thin nose. The mask is painted with kaolin pigment, providing a stark white patina. The raffa is attached through small holes along the chin, extending below the wooden mask. An upper lip protrudes from the plane of the face, and small rounded eyes with cavities rest in large orbitals defined by a high ridge of a brow bone. This Lega "Bwami" mask would have been utilized in initiation ceremonies open to both men and women. The Bwami is important to Lega identity, supporting social and political life.
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Carved Seer Mask The carved wooden mask may resemble the '"seer" or "Ngobudi" type mask like that of the neighbouring Yombe people. These mask are unique in their design, as the features appear quite naturalistic. The hollowed eyes and slightly opened mouth create an expression of clarity, possibly in reference to the ritualistic function of the mask. The surface is rough, with remnants of dark pigment, and red on the lips and forehead. A band of three lines wraps the forehead dividing the face and the coiffure. In the center, a semicircular form extends from the forehead. This detail is a common motif in both Ngobudi and Nganga masks.
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Minimalist Carved Mask The carved mask has a rough surface with remnants of natural materials pressed into the wood. Along the chin, raffia has been woven through hollowed grommets. The facial features are minimalistic, with little detail in the eyes and nose. Lining the upper lip are small teeth, potentially from a small animal. Round ears rest on either side of the mask, creating a symmetrical face.
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Ovular Two Faced Wooden Mask The ovular wooden Ligbi mask has two faces, with thin slits for eyes and thinly painted lines for the mouths. Hanging vertically from the top of the mask, covering either face, are forms that resembles the beak of a hornbill bird. On either side of the mask are sets of double ears created by semi-circle loops.