Songye Shield with Figure African Art

Description

Title
Songye Shield with Figure African Art
Type of Object
Shield
Country of Origin
Democratic Republic of the Congo
People
Songye
Materials
Wood, pigment, plant fibers
Approximate Age
20th Century
Height (in)
35
Width (in)
16
Depth (in)
3.5
Other Dimensions
Height: 15 Inches
Width: 5 Inches
Depth: 3.5 Inches
Overall Condition
Fair to good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage/Repair
Repaired cracks, chips
Additional Information:
A wooden shield decorated with a figure in the center. The shield has a wooden handle in the back. Around the shield is embellished with reeds.  Wooden shields like this were common across the Songye region during the colonial period and even a few years before the independence of the Congo. These years were characterized by war between different ethnic groups and by the movements of resistance against the colonialism. Songye wooden shields were used by the warrior for his protection during the battle. The Kifwebe mask in the center enhance the protective power of the shield as the Kifwebe masks were used to exercise social and political control through practices of evil magic and witchcraft by the members of the bwadi bwa kifwebe society. The striations relate to a pugnacious species of striped bushbuck antelope which inhabited the area. When not in use, these shields served to protect the special house where the masks are kept.
Tervuren Museum holds a few of them. see a similar example in Laure Meyer, ART AND CRAFT IN AFRICA1995 p. 141 fig. 130 from Babier-Mueller Museum, Geneva
Recommended Reading:
see Hersak Dunja's article in L. de Heuch , OBJECTS-SIGNES D'AFRIQUE for examples, and more information
**123790**
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