Existing comment:
Sustaining.
She is a vision of goodness -- a protector, a nourisher, a provider.
Cradling her child in her arms while focused on a distant goal in the future, she sits upright adorned with attributes of Kongo leadership -- including a chief's knotted hat -- and beauty, bearing elaborate scarified tattoos, filed teeth, and a smooth, serene composure. This figure likely served as a phemba, an icon associated with Kongo religious groups focused on healing and motherhood, particularly during periods in the 18th and 19th centuries when the trade in enslaved peoples on the coast was at its most disruptive. Collected before 1914, this figure is one of six known examples in this particular style, attributed to an as-yet-unnamed master artist. |