Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Ancestor bust (singiti) from Congo region
Image View:
Detail, three-quarter view of face and head
Creator:
unknown (Hemba sculptor)
Location:
exhibition: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montréal, Québec, Canada)
Location Note:
From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-Face Picasso, Past and Present (2018 exhibition)
Date:
19th century (creation)
Cultural Context:
Central African; Hemba
Style Period:
Hemba
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
wood
Technique:
carving (processes)
Subjects:
human figure; portrait; Luba region; genealogy; lineage
Description:
The Hemba people (or Eastern Luba) are an ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They memorialized distinguished ancestors (e.g. chiefs, warriors, and heads of lineages) in sculpted wooden figures (sing. singiti; pl. lusingiti) that served as vessels for their spirits. A visual genealogical record, the figures were cared for by a designated member of the lineage, who arranged them in the order in which they lived. While sculpted lusingiti are idealized images, each represents a specific Hemba ancestor whose spirit is contained therein. (Source: Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) [website]; https://www.dma.org/ )
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-AFRICAN-FAFFM-SA B-A03
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Ancestor bust (singiti) from Congo region