The Vili and their neighbours, the Yombe, live in western Congo, to the north of the mouth of the Congo river. Their art is very similar, so that it is difficult to distinguish between their masks and figures. The present, small female figure is probably to be assigned to the Vili, due to her cap with the significant point towards the top. Under this cap she displays a round marking on the forehead, probably a scarification mark. The eyes consist of glass, which is painted white and black on the reverse. The open mouth reveals two filed incisors. Characteristic for the style of the west Congo tribes of Vili and Yombe is the idiosyncratic pose of the figure: her arms are bent forward at the elbows, and her hands rest on her upper thighs. She kneels on a rectangular base plate and everything is carved from one piece of wood. The meaning of this figure lies in the ancestor cult, but it may also have been used as a power figure (‘Nkisi’) against witchcraft, theft, etc. A small sculpture in typical style, out of hard wood and with an old, reddish and encrusted shiny patina. A break with a crack due to age at the back, where there is also an old collection label. H: 22 cm. First third of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance: According to the consignor, the present item was purchased by his father in Paris in the early 1960s. Currently: Austrian Private Collection.

Lit.: 'Die Kunst des schwarzen Afrika' by Kerchache, Paudrat, Stephan, fig. 993.