Kongo and Kuba: the Art of Rulership Display

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ARTHIST 345-01/AAAS 348-01/ICS 223- 01/AFRICAN ART: FROM ROYAL COURT TO CONTEMPORARY MARKETPLACE Kongo and Kuba: The Art of Rulership Display Monday, March 30 Map of the Kongo Kingdom Mbanza Kongo (Salvador, Angola), from Olfert Dapper’s Description of Africa, 1688. Above left: L. Degrandpré, The house & funeral of the court minister of commerce, the Ma-Kayi, of Cabinda, c. 1787. Below left: Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi, After being denied a chair by the Portuguese governor, Queen Nzinga Mbundu sits on the back of her attendant, 1690. Engraving. Yombe peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Royal scepter, 19th century. Ivory. Above left: Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo/Angola, Royal hat (mpu), before 1674. Woven grass & fiber. Below left: Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo/Angola, Royal apron, before 1674. Woven grass & fiber. Above & below left: renderings of the Kongo cosmogram. Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Funeral cylinder (diboondo), 19th century. Terracotta. Left: Kongo Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guardian figure (tomba, ntadi), 19th century. Steatite. Right: Yombe peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mother & child statue, 19th century. Wood & mixed media. Above: Photograph of a Bwende funerary mannequin (niombo) during a public ceremony, early 20th century. Right: Bwende, Democratic Republic of Congo, Funerary mannequin (niombo), early 20th century. Cloth, pigment, soil, human remains. Left: Yombe peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Power figure (nkisi nkondi), 1905. Wood, metal, glass, & mixed media. Above: Vili peoples, Angola/Democratic Republic of Congo, Double-headed power figure of dog (nkondi), before 1912. Wood, iron & mixed media. Map of Central Africa, 17th century CE. Above: Kuba Kingdom ruler (Nyim) Mbop Mabiinc maKyen (ruled 1939-1969). Right: Kuba Kingdom ruler (Nyim) Kot a MbWeeky III (ruled 1969-the present). Photographs by Eliot Elisofon. Kuba-Bushoong Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Royal portrait figure (ndop), late 18th century. Wood. Clockwise from above: Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Female mask (Ngady aMwaash), 19th century. Wood, pigments, beads, cowrie shells & fiber. Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Royal mask (Mbwoom), late 19th –early 20th century. Wood, shells, beads. Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Royal Elephant mask (Mwaash aMbooy), 20th century. Mixed media. Clockwise from above right: Ngombe peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Reclining chair, early 20th century. Wood, brass tacks. Pierre Legrain, Study for a stool, 1920. Watercolor on paper. Pende peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Hat, early 20th century. Twine, cowrie shells. Man Ray, Mode au Congo, 1937. Gelatin silver print..

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