A remarkable mother and child figure from the Kongo kingdom

This mother and child figure from the Kongo kingdom is a truly remarkable example of its kind.

Among the many mother and child figures from the Kongo tribe, this one stands out for one specific characteristic: it still has this deep rich patina from rich worship when they rub the statue with a mixture of oil and nkula powder. As you can see on the surface it’s darker on some places and less darker on some other places.

What is also interesting is the representation of the necklace with leopard’s claws around the neck of the mother. You can also see the child who is not a child asleep on his mother’s lap, but he is actually breastfeeding which alludes to the fact that the mother of the clan feeds the entire village.

You also see the amazing caps here which connects this figure to probably the ruling clan of the Kongo kingdom, and it was collected very early, it was found by Dr Albert Collard, who was a between 1924 and 1928, among the Kongo, and it has been in the family for more than 70 years.