Kuba Lidded Pot
Origin: Kuba Kingdom, D.R.Congo
Approx Age: Mid 20th Century
Materials: Wood
Dimensions cm: 24 long x 11 widest point
Ref. Number: 1279
Description:
This is a stunning and old Kuba lidded pot wooden container from an old collection in Ghent, as there are no remains of red tukula/camwood powder inside this would have been used for the likes of razors and beads and the likes of. The beautiful styled Kuba incised patterning “nnaam” is very worn due to mass handling over the years of use. This is in absolute top condition for its age and the nnaam is exquisitely carved, stunning authentic piece of Kuba art.
History
The Kuba used elaborately carved containers of various shapes and sizes that were kept by Kuba to store costume accessories and items used for personal care. These included razors, beads, and camwood powder used to coat and beautify the skin. Surface decoration that cover these vessels and boxes are known as ‘nnaam’, a Kuba term referring to the tangled vines and creepers that grow in the fertile forests of this region.
One of the important art forms identified with competition between titled court members among the Kuba are the carved palm-wine drinking
cups and ornately carved boxes that held tukula powder. With half of all Bushoong men holding titles in the 1880s, competition for influence
was sometimes fierce, and found expression in the elaboration of these essentially commonplace household objects into works of
extraordinary beauty.
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