Two Kuba Wrought-Iron Statuettes

Abstract

On April 13, 1920, the City of Antwerp, Belgium, acquired part of the famous Pareyn collection, which now belongs to its Etnografisch Museum.' Included in the acquisition were two wrought-iron human figurines, today bearing the inventory numbers AE. 773 and AE. 774 and identified as Kuba. As they are believed to be the only known specimens of wrought-iron human figure sculpture deriving from Central Africa, one wonders that little attention has been given to them until now. The name Kuba encompasses a federation of eighteen tribes that live in south central Zaire, between the Sankuru and Kasal rivers. To avoid confusion, it should also be mentioned that the Kuba were named by their neighbors, the Luba, and they are often called the Bushongo, which is actually the name of the ruling group within this federation. The former Kuba nation, like the Ashanti in Ghana and the peoples of Ife and Benin in Nigeria, embraced sacred kingship. The royal genealogy occupies an important place in the oral history, which recorded the 124th ruler2 at the beginning of the twentieth century. According to oral tradition, the bearers of what finally would become Kuba culture reached their present home some 1500 years ago. During the reign of the sixth king, the Kuba grew familiar with one of the most important elements of material culture: iron.