Yaka statuette, Democratic Republic of Congo

Very good quality biteki Yaka divination statuette, used as a receptacle or supports for magical preparations, represented standing, the powerful legs bent at the knees, the forearms bent, the stylized hands meeting on the torso. Carried by a strong neck, the elongated head offers a face with finely sculpted expressionist features, dominated by a broad rounded forehead, almond-shaped eyes with lowered lids, inscribed in hollowed sockets, prominent aquiline nose, the mouth parted on a row of teeth, all giving off a dark and contemplative expression. The magico-religious loads were suspended from the openings pierced in the arms, and, in all likelihood, present in the hollow of the ears. Simple and refined headdress.
Superb honey-brown patina, the depth and nuances of which attest to the great age of the work.

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Origin
Ex French collection