
Bembe Maternity Figure, Republic of Congo #33
Bembe Maternity Figure, Republic of Congo #33 A finely carved wooden Female Effigy, Nkiteki (Ancestor Figure), or translated as "Good Wife" with her child on her back. Featuring raised scar designs, with one inset glass eye, and one old repair of a carved shell eye. The Figure exhibits a well handled honey colored surface patina suggesting years of use. The Bembe believe that the small anthropomorphic Figures in wood are a representation of themselves, both in Form and in Spirit. Anyone with the financial means, usually experienced Leaders and Hunters, can commission an artist to carve a Portrait of an individual they wish to venerate, or a Self Portrait, in the way one wants to remember today and after one's death. The figures highlight the Continuity between Ancestors and Living, and demonstrate the important role that Ancestors are thought to play in ensuring the Fertility and Protection of the Family and the Community. The Biteki Characters are housed with other Ancestral Ch