Budja, Democratic Republic of Congo: An abstract dance crest for fertility and hunting ceremonies.
Budja, Democratic Republic of Congo: An abstract dance crest for fertility and hunting ceremonies.
A typical dance crest of the Budja, a small tribe on the river Lualaba, in northern Congo. Carved from wood and painted with two white and red zigzag bands. This crest was worn on the head’s of masked dancers and symbolises an important, mythical animal for the Budja people (a bird or a chicken?). The outer, stylised, plank-like wooden part is attached onto a cap with braided rattan strips. It has a dense hanging made from palm leaf fibres and additional tassels made from plant fibres. The Budja people danced with crests such as these during ritual fertility ceremonies and to bring the hunters luck. Until the 1980s these Budja dance crests were completely unknown. Once, on an official state visit of King Baudouin of Belgium to the Congo, a group of Budja danced with these crests for the king. The objects were then internationally ‘discovered’. The present Budja crest is a old, well ‘danced’ piece. It has a break somewhere in the middle (restored) and a good patina due to protracted use. Height: c. 60 cm; around or after 1980. (ME)
Provenance:
Laeremans Collection, Brussels; Austrian Private Collection.
Lit.:
‘The Tribal Arts of Africa’ by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart, p. 136, ill. 1.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
09.06.2016 - 17:00
- Realized price: **
-
EUR 750.-
- Starting bid:
-
EUR 600.-
Budja, Democratic Republic of Congo: An abstract dance crest for fertility and hunting ceremonies.
A typical dance crest of the Budja, a small tribe on the river Lualaba, in northern Congo. Carved from wood and painted with two white and red zigzag bands. This crest was worn on the head’s of masked dancers and symbolises an important, mythical animal for the Budja people (a bird or a chicken?). The outer, stylised, plank-like wooden part is attached onto a cap with braided rattan strips. It has a dense hanging made from palm leaf fibres and additional tassels made from plant fibres. The Budja people danced with crests such as these during ritual fertility ceremonies and to bring the hunters luck. Until the 1980s these Budja dance crests were completely unknown. Once, on an official state visit of King Baudouin of Belgium to the Congo, a group of Budja danced with these crests for the king. The objects were then internationally ‘discovered’. The present Budja crest is a old, well ‘danced’ piece. It has a break somewhere in the middle (restored) and a good patina due to protracted use. Height: c. 60 cm; around or after 1980. (ME)
Provenance:
Laeremans Collection, Brussels; Austrian Private Collection.
Lit.:
‘The Tribal Arts of Africa’ by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart, p. 136, ill. 1.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
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| Auction: | Tribal Art - Africa |
| Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
| Date: | 09.06.2016 - 17:00 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 04.06. - 09.06.2016 |
** Purchase price incl. buyer's premium and VAT
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