Kuyu peoples, Republic of the Congo
Late 19th to early 20th century
Wood, pigment
81.9 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm (32 1/4 x 6 x 6 in.)
2005-6-103, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (cat. no. 38)
More/Less Information
A colonial official during the early 20th century described Kuyu initiation rites in which carved male and female figures would be carried and displayed, each fashioned with the coiffure, scarification patterns, and ornaments of an ideal Kuyu adult. That may well be the context for this rare double figure. The animal atop the head is a panther, an animal that western Kuyu chiefs claim as a mythic ancestor.
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