Female figure, 19th century

  • Luba, African

Wood and varnish

  • Overall (height approx): 13 inches (33 cm)

Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Fund

2014.34

The female form is a crucial focus of Luba art. In Luba culture, only women who can bear children are believed to be capable of containing powerful spirits. For this reason, objects with images of women tend to be owned by noble men. In a political context, the female form has enormous meaning because of the critical importance of the female line in royal descent. Luba women also play a distinct role as guardians of the deep secrets pertaining to kingship power; indeed, the Luba say that women protect the secrets and taboos of royalty within their breasts. The elaborate keloidal scars on this figure’s torso are marks of beauty. The aesthetic refinement of the female body through elaborate skin ornamentation serves as a metaphor for the civilization that Luba rulers disseminate within society. This is one of only a handful of known Luba freestanding sculptures. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

(Bernard de Grunne, Brussels, Belgium

Donald Morris Gallery, Inc., Birmingham, Michigan, USA)

2014-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Luba, African, Female figure, 19th century, wood and varnish. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Fund, 2014.34.