Ritual Head
Mid–/late 19th century
Hemba Democratic Republic of the Congo Central Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
This male ritual head bears the crossed coiffure and regal, elongated face with arched brows and almond-shaped eyes that are characteristic of Hemba sculpture. The fur attached to the base of this sculpture is not original. This sculpture was possibly once kept in a basket or gourd and would have been used by the head of the clan to foster communication between the living and the ancestral realm.
Wood, animal fur (contemporary facsimile based on period examples), and twine