Very beautiful statue in wood, pigments, kaolin and various, which comes from the Kuba ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Height: 39 cm

The Kuba Ethnic Group 

Coming from the north, the Kuba (a name given to them by the Luba and which means: "People of the Lightning") settled during the 16th century between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers in the center of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are subdivided into many tribes including the Bushoong, the Ngeendé, the Kété, the Lélé, the Binji, the Dengésé, the Mbuun and the Wongo.

The Kuba kingdom was founded in the 16th century by the Bushoong, whose king still receives tribute from each clan today. He lives with his court in a palace called mushenge and is responsible for the prosperity and fertility of his people. The current Bushoong king is the twenty-first to bear this title.

Kuba-Bushong Art 

Kuba and Bushoong arts are often confused and are particularly known for their royal statues called ndop, traditional representations of the Bushoong king, for their fabrics made of plant fibers but also for their masks with geometric patterns decorated with cowries and red pigments. There are more than twenty varieties that embody the spirits but the best known are the royal masks that represent the founding monarch (Woot) or his sister and wife (Ngaady a mwaash)

Each clan, member of the Kuba tribe, has produced objects with specific aesthetic characteristics, but there are some constants, such as the predilection for geometric patterns.

Kuba and Bushong artists created many everyday objects such as circular, rectangular or crescent-shaped boxes in which red pigment was kept, anthropomorphic cups such as the one presented here, necklaces and fabrics made of plant fibers decorated, of course, with geometric patterns.

Variants of the name Kuba 

According to the sources, we observe multiple variants of the name Kuba: Bacouba, Bakouba, Ba-kuba, Bakuba, Inkongo, Kouba, Kuba, Kubas, Luna, Tukubba... We also sometimes use the variants of their "mother" ethnic group: Bushongo, Bushong, Bushoong.