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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Mangbetu Terracotta Vessel in the Form of an Anteater, 20th Century CE

Mangbetu Terracotta Vessel in the Form of an Anteater, 20th Century CE

Terracotta
11 x 12 x 28
DV.012 (LSO)
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This amusing and attractive object is a zoomorphic vessel made by the Mangbetu people of what was once Zaire. It is the first such piece that we have seen, and...
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This amusing and attractive object is a zoomorphic vessel made by the Mangbetu people of what was once Zaire. It is the first such piece that we have seen, and seems to represent an anteater (or perhaps a pangolin). It does not appear to have served any practical purpose and was therefore probably sculpted for European interests at the start of the 20th century. It is beautifully rendered in dark clay, with a high, pitched back, powerful limbs, a long snout and a resultantly elongated face with oval eyes, large nostrils and a crest running from between the eyes to the tip of the snout. The sculptural quality is exceptional.
The Mangbetu tribe moved to the Congo region from Sudan about two hundred years ago, and is known for a complex and highly distinctive cultural metier that was based around a court system. They are particularly renowned for their musicians, which is – unusually – a professional career in Mangbetu society, and also for their extravagant dancing and ceremonial behaviour. Artistically, they are famous for their architecture and courtly arts, a range of objects made for – and at the behest of – the royal families of the region. These ranged from objects of religious and spiritual significance to everyday items decorated with significant and/or aesthetically-pleasing motifs and designs, which allow us a glimpse into Mangbetu society.
Their material culture is intimately associated with the rigid kingship system. Kings controlled, from the 1850s, a mystical force known as nebeli which was originally used to lure animals into traps, but was eventually used to deceive enemies – specifically, the early messengers of colonial powers. Their refusal to buckle under Belgian administration – unlike most of their neighbours – had serious socioeconomic repercussions. There was, however, at least a modicum of artistic freedom, for while the early stages of Mangbetu artistic development are somewhat mysterious, by the time that the European hold on the area had solidified, the Mangbetu were in the habit of trading and exchanging prestige goods between chiefly courts and, eventually, to visiting Europeans.
This is a striking and appealing piece of African art.
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