260262 - Old African power basket from the Luba - Congo.

Old African power basket from the Luba - Congo.
Size: 25 cm in diameter and 6 cm high.

The basket contains various objects or materials that, in Luba-Hemba culture, represent the power of nature and the wilderness, respectively: a tooth, a wreath of thorns surrounding the inside of the basket, two horns filled with power substances and covered with red cloth, two nut shells, two geometrically shaped objects (perhaps earrings?) made of copper sheet, and a small wooden mask of a man.

These objects embody the power of traditional religion and its priests, who actualize the forces of nature in their rituals. The vast Luba territory, comprising the entire southeastern part of the DRC, as far as Tanganyika and Lake Mweru, is uniform as regards language and culture, but racially mixed. Although the history of the Luba people is one of violence and warfare, their artistic style is characterized by harmonious integration of organically related forms. The splendid artistic achievements of the Luba are due to a felicitous intermingling of different racial and cultural elements, and to the high standards prevailing at the court. Luba arts counts amongst the finest that Africa has to offer. Artists occupied a privileged place in the hierarchy. The Luba artist carried a ceremonial ax on his shoulder, an emblem of prestige and of dignity of his position. Some apprentices would be recruited from among the deformed, who could neither hunt nor be warriors and who were believed to have a close connection.