This beautifully patinated anthropomorphic ivory figure was carved by an artist belonging to the Lega group in what was once Zaire. It portrays a standing female figure with a heart-shaped face and coffee-bean eyes, with her hands folded on her chest. The rendering is dynamic, and has been tempered by the outstanding handling patina. The brows are unified in a single hatched bar that converges upon the bridge of the nose, rendered as a low-relief triangular lozenge. The eyes are very deep, lending a somewhat intense expression, while the mouth is a simple incised line. The body is more blockish than the head, with almost square shoulders, slightly bent legs and the arms folded across the chest as if in waiting or repentance. The detailing is nugatory beneath the neck; the fingers and toes are picked out in the most basic fashion, as lines dividing a general form. The genitalia, however, are very prominent, with the labia menora and majora picked out in considerable detail. The only decoration on the piece is provided by a single incised dot on each cheek, and a line of them (9 in all) across the top of the chest. The ivory has acquired an extremely attractive golden honey glow patina from generations of handling.

The Lega people are amongst Africa’s best-known carvers and artists. Currently settled in the Kivu province of the eastern DRC, they believe themselves to be descended from an eponymous ancestor who migrated into the area from what is now Uganda. They are also known as Warega and Balega, based on corruptions of their actual name by neighbouring groups and Arab traders, respectively. They live in small villages and consider themselves parts of lineages, although to outsiders the “Lega” group is a well-defined unit. They are further defined on the basis of their modes of subsistence. The western Lega settled in the forest (malinga), where they rely on hunting and gathering, while the eastern groups live on poor soils, further denuded by their mode of slash-and-burn agriculture.

Lega government is based along the lines of a gerontocracy; and balanced very finely between leading members of different lineages. The Lega believe in a trio of gods named Kinkunga, Kalaga and Kakinga, and that when they die they will enter a subterranean afterworld known as Uchimu. Social life is structured by three main social institutions: family and kinship (ibuta), circumcision rituals (ibuta) and the Bwami society. Of these, the latter is perhaps the most powerful. It is centred on the guidance of young people to moral maturity, although it also fulfils a range of other political socio-political, economic and artistic functions. Much of the paraphernalia produced by the Lega pertains to the workings of the Bwami society. Examples include initiation objects – that are sometimes ground away and the resulting dust used as a healing device – isengo (lit. “heavy things” used in healing), binumbi (publicly visible insignia), bingonzengonze (“things of play”) and the large category of sculpted objects/assemblages known as bitungwa. Within the latter there are numerous sub-categories along the lines of size, material, ownership and type. This applies to all manner of objects, especially kalimbangoma (figures). All members of the Bwami own one of these, which is usually cared for, oiled and kept by their wife. The higher the rank, the more impressive the figure. The highest standards – those in the ranks known as Yananio or Kindi – own ivory figures, of which this is a truly stunning example.

Western art history approaches have been unable to read the cultural implications of Lega pieces as most of these were removed from their highly-specific context without recording of data concerning their use, name and function. In general terms, Lega figures are used by members of the Bwami society, who commission the figure with a general description of how it should look (pose, material etc) but who leave the details to the carver. All figures tend to represent the ideal Lega male – a large forehead, a shaved head (sometimes with a cap) and a straight posture – and are endowed with the characteristics of a Bwami initiate: washed, shining and proud. Some figures are carved for the aesthetic of the ugly, used as cautionary tales for initiates.

This piece is extremely unusual in being identifiable to one character from the Lega sculptural lexicon – that of Wayinda. This femme fatale is used as a demonstration of what impropriety can wreak in society, as she committed adultery while pregnant and thus disgraced her husband and brought ruin to her own family. She is usually portrayed using vigorously crude carving, with prominent genitalia and a distended stomach. This is therefore a very important figure, from one of the highest ranks in Lega society, and with a positive identification as to identity within Lega mythology. While this attribution cannot be certain, it is the most likely identification.

This is an exceptional piece of African art.