Figure

between 1875 and 1900

Bena Lulua, African

On View

African: Journey of Life, Level 1, North Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

The Bena Lulua made distinctive carvings with elaborate patterns engraved on the surface alluding to extremely complex body scarification. The concentric circles and spirals probably allude to the ripples created by stones thrown into water. This figure represents an important chief, for his neck is covered with strands of rare beads and his waist is encircled by a leopard-skin garment that could be worn only by chiefs. A conch shell carved on the figure's back held a powerful potion. Figures like this were taken by warriors into battle to strengthen morale and help repel the enemy.

Title Figure

Artwork Date between 1875 and 1900

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Bena lulua

Medium Carved and patinated wood and shell

Dimensions Overall: 19 7/8 × 5 1/4 × 5 1/2 inches (50.5 × 13.3 × 14 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, with funds from L & R Entwistle and Co., Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, Abraham Borman Family Fund, Joseph H. Boyer Memorial Fund, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, General Endowment Fund, New Endowment Fund, Benson and Edith Ford Fund, K. T. Keller Fund, Laura H. Murphy Fund, Mary Martin Semmes Fund, Barbara L. Scripps Fund, Edna Burian Skelton Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad H. Smith Memorial Fund, Henry E. and Consuelo S. Wenger Foundation Fund, and Matilda R. Wilson Fund.

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 82.49

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Marks Old sale labels and accession numbers as follow: Outside of proper left foot, white paint: 11?52 Inside of proper left heel, paper label: Ratton Paris Sole of proper right foot, red paint: 5854:06 Sole of proper right foot, round white paper label: ENTWISTLE LONDON, \in ink:! XO66

Provenance

1905-06, Leo Frobenius (Congo expedition)

Museum fur Volkerkunde (Hamburg, Germany)

Charles Ratton (Paris, France)

Helena Rubinstein [Princess Gourielli] (Paris, France & New York, USA)

Comte Jean-Jacques de Launoit (Brussels, Belgium). (L & R Entwistle and Company, Ltd., London, England)

1982-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

African and Oceanic Art: Parts One and Two: The Collection of Helena Rubenstein. Sales cat., Sotheby-Parke-Bernet. New York, 1966, pp. 210-211, no. 277.

Bulletin of the DIA 61, no. 3 (1982/83): p. 6 (ill.).

African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London: The Detroit Institute of Arts and Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995, cat. no. 74.

Joubert, Helene, ed. Hélèna Rubinstein: Madame's Collection. Exh. cat., Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Paris, 2019, p. 138, (ill. 119).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Bena Lulua, African, Figure, between 1875 and 1900, carved and patinated wood and shell. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, with funds from L & R Entwistle and Co., Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, et al., 82.49.