The Mangbetu people once reigned over a flourishing kingdom in northeastern Congo. Hence their traditional art flourished around the court. Their very rare figural sculptures, called ‘Beli’, are reminders of important ancestors of the ruling aristocracy. They used to belong to secret societies and were kept in secret places.
The Mangbetu nobility had a special ideal of beauty, which involved the artificial deformation of the occipital bone, resulting in an ‘elongated’ skull. For this purpose, children’s heads were tightly wrapped with raffia strings.
The present ‘Beli’, a male ancestor figure in a standing position, clearly exemplifies this ideal of beauty: the head, characterised by a refined linear hairstyle, is artificially ‘stretched’ towards the back. The long, narrow face features a flat, long nose. The nasal septum and the protruding ears are pierced, the conical bulging eyes have white glass pearls as pupils, the mouth and chin project forward. The disproportionately long arms hang free, whilst the genitalia and knees on the relatively short legs are accentuated. The face and body are decorated with patterns of geometric lines.
An old piece made of hard, mid-brown wood, with good patina and minor age-related damage (tears under the left shoulder, minor tears to the body and head, two small pieces broken off on the left foot). Rare!
Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century; H: 86 cm. (ME)

Provenance: Belgian Private Collection.

Lit.: 'Die Kunst des schwarzen Afrika' by Kerchache, Paudrat, Stephan, fig. 654, detail fig. 656; from the same workshop: 'Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Barbier-Müller, Genf' by W. Schmalenbach, 1988, p. 293; Artcurial auction, Paris, 10 June 2008, lot 119.

additional picture:
A Mangbetu woman with ‘skull deformation.’
Photo from ‘Die große Völkerkunde’ by Hugo A. Bernatzik