Unrivalled Art at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium)

 

Antropo-zoömorf masker / Masque anthropo-zoomorphe / Anthropo-zoomorphic mask. Luulu, Katanga, RD Congo. [Luba]. 2nd quarter of the 19th century. Wood (Ricinodendron rautanenii). Purchase from the widow of O. Michaux. 1919. EO.0.0.23470. Photo J. Van de Vyver, MRAC Tervuren ©

 
 

Unrivalled Art

Temporary Exhibition

 

This room contains four display cabinets with a significant collection of artistic production in the domain of masks, statuary, sculpted ivory and ‘utilitarian’ art. The pieces brought together here almost all come from Congo and mainly date back to the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. 

Other display cabinets deal with more specific themes, which really touch on considerations specific to the History of Art. For example, in some it is a matter of trying better to understand the notion of beauty from an African perspective. In other spaces, it is about better understanding the extent to which the Belgian presence modified certain aspects of the production and sale of sculptures in Congo. In a different part of the room, researchers will propose an alternative to the study of African material cultures outside the context of ethnography, by developing the discipline of the history of arts in Africa. 

This approach, which owes a lot to the pioneering work of Belgians such as F. M. Olbrechts (former director of the RMCA), makes it possible to develop stylistic and iconographic analysis in African art, but also, and this is of paramount importance, the research carried out by the artist, the Man behind the object.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

 

From the Collections

 

Olifantenmasker / Masque d’éléphant / Elephant mask. Former province Katanga. RD Congo. [Luba]. 19th century. Wood (Ricinodendron sp.), pigment. Gift from C.F.A. Lemaire. 1899. EO.0.0.3722. Photo J.-M. Vandyck, MRAC Tervuren ©

Cihongo. Masker / Masque / Mask. Dilolo, Katanga, RD Congo.[Tshokwe]. Branch, feather, pith, paper, plant fiber, bark cloth, hide. Field-collected by G.F. de Witte. 1931. EO.0.0.33780-1. Photo R. Asselberghs, MRAC Tervuren ©

Nkishi. Krachtbeeld / Statue de force / Power figure. Lomami, RD Congo. [Songye]. 20th century. Wood, copper alloy, iron, plant fibre, horn, hide. Bequest from J. Walschot. 1980. EO.1980.2.492. Photo J. Van de Vyver, MRAC Tervuren ©

Nkisi nkonde. Beeld / Statue / Statue / [Yombe; Kakongo].RD Congo. 1st quarter of the 19th century. Wood (Canarium schweinfurthii. Collected by A. Delcommune. 1878. Registered in 1912. EO.0.0.7943.

Pendant, Hungaan. D.R. Congo. 2nd quarter of the 19th century. Elephant ivory. Inv. no. EO.0.0.16707
© RMCA, Tervuren, photo Jo Van de Vijver

Zoomorphic slit drum,  D.R. Congo. Inv. no. MO.0.0.36413
© RMCA, Tervuren, photo Jo Van de Vijver

Helmmasker / Masque-heaume / Helmet mask. Kindundu, Kwilu, RD Congo. [Suku]. Early 20th century. Wood (Ricinodendron heudelotii), pigment, plant fibre. Gift from the Compagnie du Kasaï. 1913. EO.0.0.15374.Photo R. Asselberghs, MRAC Tervuren ©

Mbangu mask, Central Pende, Bandundu, D.R. Congo. Wood (Ricinodendron heudelotii), pigments and fibres, H. 27cm – W. 22cm, inv. no. EO.1959.15.18
© RMCA, Tervuren, photo R. Asselberghs

Mother-and-child figure. Mayumbe, Kongo central, DR Congo. [Yombe]. Before 1910. Wood, kaolin, black pigment, red pigment. Collected by Vankerkhoven, before 1909. EO.0.0.1040-1, collection RMCA Tervuren ; photo J. Van de Vyver © RMCA Tervuren.

Idimu. Masker / Masque / mask. [Lega]. RD Congo. 2nd quarter of the 19th century. Elephant ivory. Collected by D. Biebuyck. 1952. Registered in 1955. EO.1955.3.53.

Proverb string,  Maniema, D.R. Congo. Lega. Wood, plant fibre, cloth, leaf, seed pods, calabash. Inv. no. EO.1975.48.2
© RMCA, Tervuren, photo Jo Van de Vijver

 

Art of the Ancestors extends a special thank you to Pauline Malenga Mwanga.