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HOME :
African & Tribal Art :
Yaka, Teke : Yaka Wooden Janiform Sculpture
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Yaka Wooden Janiform Sculpture - PF.3407
Origin: Southwestern Congo/Angola
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
17.25" (43.8cm) high
x 7" (17.8cm) wide
Collection: African
Medium: Wood and Mixed Media
$4,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
The Yaka tribe is a matrilineal society. Among
the Yaka, men are responsible for hunting while
women cultivate a variety of crops. Many Yaka
figures are made to hold ingredients from nature
to give them power. Serving as protective
devices, some have internal cavities to hold the
powerful preparations, while others are hung
with charms. This fascinating wooden fetish
figure seems to be the second type of sculpture,
holding power with various hanging charms. Two
figures are joined back to back, connected by the
double-sided helmet headdress and fetish items
tying the arms together. The figure with the
smaller face holds a pipe to his mouth and the
other figure with the larger face has his fingers
on his chin. The depiction of a pipe is a historical
clue about European influence during British
Colonial period in Zaire. The figures' wrists are
enhanced with cloth bracelets and small pouches
decorated with feathers and twigs are tied to the
upper arms. The waistband is also decorated
with braided fibers and nutshells. Such
marvelous sculpture, most likely a deity, seems
to hold mysterious and important significance
that only the creator of it can explain. The
skillfully carved faces seem peaceful and serene,
each feature radiating with graceful curvatures of
the polished surface. Full of fascinating features,
this figure does not cease to amaze our eyes.
- (PF.3407)
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