“This magnificent miniature shows why the royal art of the Chokwe has always been held in such a high esteem. It is a court art that makes its most brilliant appearance in the representation of its rulers in ceremonial regalia associated with their chiefdoms. This extraordinary statue forms an eloquent witness of the very lively artistic activity at the heart of the Chokwe aristocracy in the mid 19th century, when the culture was at its most prosperous.
Chokwe rulers were known by the title mwana-ngana, “lord of the land”, or as mwata munene, “paramount chief”. There was no central king-like figure, but important chiefs could rule over very large territories, donating farmlands and hunting grounds to their vassals. Such chiefs were venerated as absolute masters by divine right. Several insignia were associated with their sacred authority: a royal bracelet, a sword, the cikungu mask, and other insignia such as his throne, sceptre and certain ceremonial objects such as pipes, snuff-boxes, fly-whisks; all made with the greatest care by professional carvers in the service of the chief.
The statue represents the chief himself or one of his ancestors in the dynasty. The figure is seated on his throne and naked. The head is dominated by the royal mutwe wa kayanda coiffure in accordance with his rank. He’s holding the insignia of his authority, a double cup and a pipe. The chief is surrounded by protective spirits, represented by tiny figures, more schematically rendered than the main figure. This figurative finial would once have crowned a so-called ‘snuff-mortar sceptre’. Their main goal of such a scepter was to extoll the political and religious power of its owner, which in this case must have been a very important chief. Wherever they went, Chokwe chiefs would always take their pipe, snuff-box, and a badge of their high position. A special servant would be employed for carrying this sceptre. The servant either walked in front of the chief or followed him, placing the sceptre on the ground whenever the chief stopped. A complete example of comparable quality can be found in the collection of the Royal Museum of Central Africa (inv. no. RG.41233) in Tervuren, collected by CH.-A. Williame between 1913 and 1915.
The style of this work has been identified by the Chokwe expert Marie-Louise Bastin as the “Moxico style”, prevailing in Eastern Angola’s Moxico Province in the early 19th century. This homogenous archaic style has well-defined morphological features. The oversized head is dominated by the elaborately rendered coiffure. The facial characteristics are carved with much detail. Oval eyes sit underneath curved eyebrows. The short flat nose with accentualated and wel-modelled wings has prominent nose holes. Underneath, the slightly raised corners of the wide mouth with thin lips could be interpreted as a smile. The realistically rendered ears are placed at the back of the head, slightly hidden by the exuberant coiffure. The cylindrical neck is short and connects with a compact muscular body, with indicated pectoral muscles and navel. The male sex is naturalistically sculpted. At the back, the shoulder blades stand out clearly, the whole forming a very elegant curve with a groove at the vertebral column and ending in rounded and well fleshed buttocks. The upper arms follow the curve of the back, the elbows projecting to the back, adding dynamism to the statue’s posture. Hands and feet are treated with extreme care (note the phalanges and fingernails). Aristocrats often had long, elegant hands, and they liked to let their finger-nails grow.
This exceptional carving was once in the collection of Alfredo Baptista Cunha Braga (1869-1932), a Portuguese entrepreneur who was a passionate collector with an ecclectic taste active in Lisbon at the turn of the 20th century. Braga amassed a considerable collection of works of art in several fields, buying such objects during his many travels as well as at local auctions in Portugal. For example, he purchased a large painting by Velasquez in 1910 as well as numerous pieces of Chinese export porcelain. His list of purchases starts in 1907 but, regrettably, does not give the exact sources of his purchases. In this journal, and under the year 1903, he described this lot as a "manipanso", which at the time meant "idol amongst the negro peoples." The corresponding label, number 6, is still attached to the base of the figure.
This exceptional object, with every detail revealing a striving for perfection, is carved in the round to be enjoyed from every angle. Only appearing on the art market for the first time in a century less than a decade ago, and having remained unknown to scholars until then, this statue can be counted as one of the highlights of Chokwe art to remain in private hands. It can easily be compared with the greatest works of art to come from this region, such as the scepters at the Berlin Museum (inv. no. III.C.778) and British Museum (inv. no. 1944.af.3-3) or many of the bigger standing male statues (cf. Bastin, M.L., La Sculpture Chokwe, Arnouville, 1982, pp. 118-152). With the same monumentality as these important male figures, this miniature represents the essential of Chokwe iconography in a reduced model.”
-Christies
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