H x W x D: 84.8 x 132 x 18.5 cm (33 3/8 x 51 15/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
Nkanu peoples reside in southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are situated geographically between eastern Kongo and Yaka peoples. Although Nkanu figure sculpture has on occasion been misidentified as Yaka in origin, it is distinctive in form and surface decoration and includes masks, statues, figures and polychrome wall panels.
Several early 20th-century photographs document Nkanu initiation enclosures as thatched-roof structures open on one side. Reminiscent of a stage setting, the open side of the enclosure allowed onlookers to view the sculptural program displayed on the interior walls and floor. The walls of the enclosure were decorated with polychrome relief panels, and a grouping of figurative sculpture was placed on the floor in front of the wooden panels.
The wall panels are rectangular and carved from a light wood with human figures or animals depicted in high relief. All of the panels photographed and/or collected in the 20th century depict a uniform style. The figures are carved in high relief and painted in a characteristic fashion. The upper part of the faces are painted white while the lower parts often have a red pigment. The figures are usually depicted wearing clothing and distinctive hats or headdresses. The background surfaces of the panels are entirely covered with a variety of geometric decorations including circles, lozenges, triangles, zigzag lines and leaf patterns. The stylistic arrangement of panels with figurative reliefs alternating with those displaying two-dimensional geometric decoration or figures bordered with geometric patterns is seen in a 1903 photograph of an Nkanu initiation enclosure.
The function of the panels may have been to restate in visual terms ideas found in stories and proverbs associated with the initiation process. In this way they were used by the elders who taught moral and social values to the initiates. The panels may also have been a dramatic way for Nkanu elders to publicize the successful completion of the initiation cycle, as they displayed a variety of highly decorated wooden sculpture produced in the initiation camp.
These five polychrome panels from an Nkanu initiation enclosure date to the early 20th century. They are thought to have been acquired by a Catholic mission (Peres Blanc, Herentals, Belgium) in the early 20th century. The panels were subsequently trimmed slightly at the top and bottom so that they would fit into a wooden frame for display.
Description:
A central figure of a man wearing a distinctive hat and a European style jacket and pants is flanked by two polychromed panels composed of stacked diamond forms. The three panels are flanked on each end by two sculptural relief depictions of soldiers wearing distinctive uniforms and carrying guns. One of the soldiers is wearing a cartridge belt and the other soldier has his leg turned up to the opposite knee suggesting the soldier is at rest. Surrounding the central figure and the two soldiers are a variety of geometric forms including diamonds, foliate forms, half circles and cross hatching.
Provenance:
Peres Blanc (White Fathers), Herentals, Belgium
Mr. Vandereycken, Northern Belgium, 1960-1970s
Local dealer, Liege, Belgium
David Henrion, Brussels, 1998
Pierre Loos/Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, 1999
Marc Felix, 1999
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed May 12, 2016 to August 12, 2019)
Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present, Detroit Institute of Arts, April 18-August 8, 2010; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, September 25, 2010-January 9, 2011
Life Objects: Rites of Passage in African Art, Princeton University Art Museum, September 19, 2009-January 24, 2010
Spectacular Display: The Art of Nkanu Initiation Ritual Nkanu, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., December 16, 2001-March 3, 2002
Published References:
Binkley, David, Bryna Freyer, Christine Mullen Kreamer, Andrea Nicolls and Allyson Purpura. 2011. "Building a National Collection of African Art: The Life History of a Museum." Representing Africa in American Art Museums: A Century of Collecting and Display, ed. by Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Christa Clarke. Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 275, no. 13.5.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2012. African Cosmos: Stellar Arts. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; New York: Monacelli Press, p. 249, no. 13.3.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2010. "Impermanent by Design: The Ephemeral in Africa’s Tradition-based Arts." African Arts 23 (1), pp. 16-17, no. 4.
Kreamer, Christine, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney and Allyson Purpura. 2007. Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, p. 168, no. 14.14.
Mellor, S. 2007. "From Delicious to Not Quite Right: Subtleties in Discerning the Authenticity of African Art." Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 14 CD. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. p.7.
Quarcoopome, Nii (ed). 2009. Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present. Detroit: Detroit Museum of Art, pp. 208-209, no. 46.
Ross, Holly W. 2009. "Life Objects: Rites of Passage in African Art." Tribal Art XIII:4 (53), p. 67, no. 3.
Ross, Holly W. 2010. "Life Objects: Rites of Passage in African Art." Exhibit pamphlet. Princeton: Princeton University Art Museum.
Strother, Zoé Sara. 2016. Humor and Violence: Seeing Europeans in Central African Art. Indiana University Press.
Visoná, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poyner and Herbert M. Cole. 2008. A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, p. 374, no. 11-39.
Content Statement:
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