Statue d'ancêtre, Niembo méridionaux, Hemba, République Démocratique du Congo

collects ion Raphaël Stora (1887-1963), Paris-New York, acquise au plus tard vers 1928/1929
collects ion du dr. David Davis, USA, acquise dans les années 1950
collects ion Merton Simpson, New York, acquise en 1963
collects ion européenne

Figure sur une photographie du salon parisien de Raphaël Stora, vers 1928/1929

Elle porte, sous la base, une étiquette avec le numéro d'inventaire "64" inscrit à l'encre rouge ; sur le socle figurent le numéro d'inventaire : JV.5492A et une étiquette portant le numéro : 19 (ou I9).

Please refer to the department, + 33 1 53 05 52 67, alexis.maggiar@sothebys.com
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Le marchand d'art Raphaël Stora (1887-1963) compta parmi les plus importants marchands de son temps. Spécialisé dans la sculpture et la peinture ancienne, ainsi que dans les arts décoratifs, il quitta Paris à la veille de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et s'installa à New York où il ouvrit, en 1937, la "Stora Art Gallery" (1937-1963). Son goût pour les arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie est attesté par le très beau masque noir Punu Lumbo qu'il vendit en 1938 à l'Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York (Sotheby's, New York, 17 mai 2007, n° 124) et par le prêt de huit œuvres pour l'Exposition d'art africain et d'art océanien à la Galerie Pigalle, en 1930. Parmi elles figurent quatre masques Dan que l'on retrouve accrochés au mur de son salon parisien sur une photographie prise en 1928-1929, tandis que trône, sur une crédence Renaissance, la statue présentée ici.

Une remarquable effigie Hemba

Cette effigie Hemba, de taille exceptionnelle, reflète la beauté et l'harmonie propre aux grands styles des Niembo méridionaux. Le talent de ce maître-sculpteur se traduit dans l'expression de la beauté d'un réalisme idéalisé et dans l'eurythmie des proportions. C'est la tranquille stabilité de l'ancêtre qui émane de celui qui veille sur sa famille et leurs terres, les mains placées de part et d'autre du ventre, source de vie. Taillée dans un bois mi-lourd – probablement le Chlorophora excelsa -, la sculpture est constituée d'un bois rougeâtre et d'un enduit noir laqué, significatifs des œuvres les plus anciennes. La patine restitue l'éclat de cette figure habitée par le poids et la vibration de la lumière.

La tête, ovoïde, s'épanouit dans la mise en valeur du visage raffiné. Cerné par l'écrin du diadème frontal dont les lignes unies, ponctuées par la courbe de l'oreille, prolongent celles du collier de barbe – signe d'autorité du sage et de l'ancien – il s'étire dans la courbe frontale qui se prolonge jusqu'au sommet du crâne ; les Hemba avaient cout.mes de se raser la partie avant de leur chevelure. A la plénitude des formes répond la tension des lignes épurées : nez aquilin, filtre nasal et lèvres délicat.mes nt modelées, arcades sourcilières en arc de cercle, œil délicat.mes nt étiré sous une paupière supérieure close, laissant entrevoir la pupille de l'ancêtre qui veille avec attention sur son clan. Au dos, la coiffure quadrilobée, légèrement évasée et s'achevant au plan dorsal par quatre tresses posées sur un rectangle de raphia décoré, rappelle la tradition des chefs Hemba de conserver dans leur chevelure, durant la saison sèche, les graines précieuses. Les formes modelées du tronc mettent en relief le plan des seins et le ventre bulbeux, les membres élancés sont à la fois sensibles et rigoureux, le dos souligne à son tour le remarquable talent de ce sculpteur. 

Atelier de sculpture, style et datation

L'œuvre ici présentée, de facture exceptionnelle, correspond dans chacun de ses traits aux ateliers les plus prestigieux des Niembo méridionaux. L'harmonie des volumes, la finesse d'exécution, les détails tels le visage, la coiffure, la position symétrique du corps, l'apparentent très étroit.mes nt à la grande effigie du musée ethnographique d'Anvers (Neyt, 1977 : 61, n° I, 1). Ce chef-d'œuvre de l'ancienne collects ion Bela Hein, acquis par le musée d'Anvers en 1931, proviendrait de la célèbre collects ion anversoise d'Henry Pareyn, à une époque comparable à celle envisagée ici. Nous avions localisé la statue d'Anvers dans les environs de Mbulula, sur l'axe Kayanza-Binanga. Il est incontestable que l'effigie étudiée provient du même atelier, sans doute par la main d'un même artiste qui aurait traité différemment les détails du visage.

S'imposant parmi les œuvres majeures des ateliers de style classique Niembo, elle constitue un chaînon exceptionnel pour mesurer la production de ce maître-sculpteur dont on ne connaissait, jusqu'à présent, que l'œuvre du musée d'Anvers. Les effigies de chefs défunts faisaient partie d'un culte fondé à la fois sur la notion de survie et sur un système de parenté. Chaque ancêtre, identifié dans le temps, confère à son propriétaire un arbre généalogique précis relatant l'histoire de sa famille, et surtout l'autorité de celle-ci sur les terres occupées. La datation de cette œuvre doit s'établir dans la première moitié du XIX^e siècle, sinon plus tôt.

François Neyt, avril 2010

Hemba ancestor figure, Southern Niembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Raphael Stora (1887-1963) was one of the leading art dealers in America of his t.mes . Specializing in ancient sculpture, paintings, and decorative arts, he left Paris on the eve of the Second World War and settled in New York where he opened the 'Stora Art Gallery' in 1937 (1937-1963). His early taste for African and Oceanic Art is demonstrated by the magnificent Punu-Lumbo black mask that he sold to the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, in 1938 (Sotheby's, New York, May 17, lot 124), and by the loan an of eight works from his collects ion to the 'Exhibition of African and Oceanic Art' at the Galerie Pigalle in 1930. Among the works were four Dan masks, which can be seen hanging on the wall of his Paris salon in a photograph taken between 1928 and 1929. Resplendent on a Renaissance credenza stands the Hemba figure presented here.

A Remarkable Hemba Effigy

This Hemba effigy, of exceptional height, reflects the beauty and harmony that is characteristic of the great styles of the Southern Niembo. The extraordinary skill of the master-sculptor is reflected in the beauty of the idealized realism, and in the rhythm of the proportions. A calm stability emanates from this ancestor who watches over its family and their lands with hands placed on either side of the belly, the source of life. Carved in a semi-hard wood – probably Chlorophora excelsa ­- the sculpture consists of a reddish wood with a black lacquer coating, a sign that this is one of the oldest surviving works. The patina gives lustre to the figurehead.

The ovoid head presents a refined face. Encircled by the crown of the frontal diadem whose line, punctuated by the curve of the ear, extends from the necklace of the beard – a symbol of wisdom and of authority – all the way around the frontal curve to the top of the skull; the Hemba were accust.mes d to shave the front portion of their hair. The fullness of the forms meets the sleekness of the lines: aquiline nose, finely modelled nostrils and lips, eyebrows arched in a circle, eyes delicately elongated under a closed upper eyelid, pointing to the inner vision of the ancestor who watches closely over the clan. On the back, the hair is in a quatrefoil slightly flared out and ending in the dorsal plane with four braids on a rectangle of decorated raffia. This coiffure recalls a tradition of Hemba chiefs who conserved precious seeds in their hair during the dry season. The modelled core of the body emphasises both the plane of the breasts and the bulbous belly, the slender limbs are at once sensitive and rigorous in their rendering, the back itself is a test.mes nt to the remarkable talent of the sculptor. 

Sculpture Atelier; Style and Dating

The exceptionally executed work presented here corresponds in all of its characteristics to the most prestigious ateliers of Southern Niembo. The harmony of the volumes, the quality of the workmanship and details such as the facial hair and the identical position of the body relate very closely to the great effigy figure in the Antwerp Museum (Neyt, 1977: 61, n° I, 1). The Antwerp figure, formerly in the Bela Hein collects ion, was bought by the museum in 1931 from the celebrated collects ion of Henri Pareyn. The Antwerp figure is of a comparable age. The Antwerp figure has been located to the environs of Mbulula, on the Kayanza-Binanga axis. It is indisputable that the effigy examined here comes from the same studio, and was probably carved by the same artist as the Antwerp figure, who treated the facial details differently.

By binding together the major works from the classical Niembo studios we are able to link the production of this master-sculptor, whose work we only knew, until the present, in the effigy at the museum of Anvers. Effigies of deceased chiefs were part of a cult founded on the concept of survival and on a system of kinship. Each ancestor is identified in t.mes , and confers on its owner a precise genealogical tree that relates the history of his family, and especially his authority to occupy his lands. This figure must date to the early 19th century, if not earlier.

François Neyt

Hemba ancestor figure, Southern Niembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Raphael Stora (1887-1963) was one of the leading art dealers in America of his t.mes . Specializing in ancient sculpture, paintings, and decorative arts, he left Paris on the eve of the Second World War and settled in New York where he opened the 'Stora Art Gallery' in 1937 (1937-1963). His early taste for African and Oceanic art is demonstrated by the loan of eight works from his collects ion to the 'Exhibition of African and Oceanic Art' at the Galerie Pigalle in 1930. Among the works were four Dan masks, which can be seen hanging on the wall of his Paris salon in a photograph taken between 1929 and 1930. Resplendent on a Renaissance credenza stands the Hemba figure presented here.

A Remarkable Hemba Effigy

This Hemba effigy, of exceptional height, reflects the beauty and harmony that is characteristic of the great styles of the Southern Niembo. The extraordinary skill of the master-sculptor is reflected in the beauty of the idealized realism, and in the rhythm of the proportions. A calm stability emanates from this ancestor who watches over its family and their lands with hands placed on either side of the belly, the source of life. Carved in a semi-hard wood – probably Chlorophora excelsa ­- the sculpture consists of a reddish wood with a black lacquer coating, a sign that this is one of the oldest surviving works. The patina gives lustre to the figurehead.

The ovoid head presents a refined face. Encircled by the crown of the frontal diadem whose line, punctuated by the curve of the ear, extends from the necklace of the beard – a symbol of wisdom and of authority – all the way around the frontal curve to the top of the skull; the Hemba were accust.mes d to shave the front portion of their hair. The fullness of the forms meets the sleekness of the lines: aquiline nose, finely modelled nostrils and lips, eyebrows arched in a circle, eyes delicately elongated under a closed upper eyelid, pointing to the inner vision of the ancestor who watches closely over the clan. On the back, the hair is in a quatrefoil slightly flared out and ending in the dorsal plane with four braids on a rectangle of decorated raffia. This coiffure recalls a tradition of Hemba chiefs who conserved precious seeds in their hair during the dry season. The modelled core of the body emphasises both the plane of the breasts and the bulbous belly, the slender limbs are at once sensitive and rigorous in their rendering, the back itself is a test.mes nt to the remarkable talent of the sculptor. 

The Sculpture's Atelier, Style, and Dating

The exceptionally executed work presented here corresponds in all of its characteristics to the most prestigious ateliers of Southern Niembo. The harmony of the volumes, the quality of the workmanship and details such as the facial hair and the identical position of the body relate very closely to the great effigy figure in the Antwerp Museum (Neyt, 1977: 61, n° I, 1). The Antwerp figure, formerly in the Bela Hein collects ion, was bought by the museum in 1931 from the celebrated collects ion of Henri Pareyn. The Antwerp figure is of a comparable age. The Antwerp figure has been located to the environs of Mbulula, on the Kayanza-Binanga axis. It is indisputable that the effigy examined here comes from the same studio, and was probably carved by the same artist as the Antwerp figure, who treated the facial details differently.

By binding together the major works from the classical Niembo studios we are able to link the production of this master-sculptor, whose work we only knew, until the present, in the effigy at the museum of Anvers. Effigies of deceased chiefs were part of a cult founded on the concept of survival and on a system of kinship. Each ancestor is identified in t.mes , and confers on its owner a precise genealogical tree that relates the history of his family, and especially his authority to occupy his lands. This figure must date to the early 19th century, if not earlier.

François Neyt