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This attractive ivory trumpet was made by the
Kongo (or Bakongo) people of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Congo. It
comprises the distal one quarter of a tusk, with
the tip carved into a mouthpiece. The swelling
midsection is decorated with geometric banding
and a rather grotesque face that has a certain
similarity to Lega masks, with a wide nose, a
deflected upper lip and a fierce expression. The
ivory has become darkened and glossy through
either time or use.
By the end of the 15th century the Kongo were
living in a series of loosely-connected yet
autonomous kingdoms. They had a fairly
peaceable relationship with early Portuguese
explorers, perhaps because the Kongo kingdom
was so large and powerful. The kingdom
absorbed European traditions and religion
without excess bloodshed, and, more
importantly, with much of their indigenous
culture intact.
Indigenous Kongo society was essentially based
around the kingship model, with extensive arrays
of civil servants and court officials. Their religious
beliefs are based around a reverence for the dead
who are believed to be able to assist in the
determination of future destinies. The kingship
system has also generated a considerable range
of court regalia, designed to exalt the royal
family and attribute them with real or imagined
powers over their foes. The materials from which
they made echoed their wealth, ivory being even
more costly and rare than precious metals. This is
an example of such a tradition.
An interesting piece of African art.
- (DC.0725 (LSO))
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