Kuba (Bakuba, Bushongo), Democratic Republic of the Congo

A Bushoong king (ndop) figure. Today, the Kuba people number 250,000 and are subdivided into a number of tribes – the Bushoong, the Ngeende, the Kete, the Lele, the Binji, the Dengese, the Mbuun and the Wongo. Each clan pays tribute to the king of the Bushoong ruling clan, but their internal affairs are dealt with autonomously. The Bushoong king and his court lived in a closed palace. The king was responsible for the wealth and fecundity of the people. Among the best known of Kuba art forms are royal portrait figures, ndop - the idealized representations of the king. Rigidly frontal and symmetrical, these king portraits evoke ideas of composure, calmness, immobility, solidity, dignity, and detachment. The flat item on the head of the king is a hat with a very specific ornament depicting cowry shells. In his left hand the king holds the symbol of royal power - the scepter. At the enthronement ceremony the king would recite the complete list of his royal predecessors.

Kuba traditions maintain that if the ndop is damaged, an exact copy is made to replace it.

"Heroic Africans" -  the 2011 Exhibit at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has a number of  seated ndop statues on display.

Material: wood

Size: 11½”x3½”x2½”

Price:   $215+$35 (S&H)                                         [#N9U8S609]