Bakuba Wood 'Queen Mother' Bust

Creator

Preview

Culture

Bakuba people

Medium

Wood

Dimensions

9 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 3 in. (24.77 x 8.89 x 7.62 cm)

33.97 oz. (963.2 g)

Credit Line

Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020

Accession Number

2020.3

Provenance

Purchased by David P. Harris ('46) from Von Barghahn Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, on March 27, 1976.

Condition

The bust has suffered some damage: the tip of the nose has been blunted by rubbing, the left earlobe is missing, and there is a horizontal cut in the chest area.

References

Brad Hostetler, with Ani Parnagian, "From Private to Public: The Collection of David P. Harris," in Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, eds. Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 5–25. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/

Description

Carved of a heavy, dark tan wood, the bust depicts a female possessing great regal dignity. Her exceptionally high-piled hair is decorated with five rows of closely set horizontal incisions running vertically from the forehead to the slightly pointed top of the piece, represented the queen's special coiffure. The portrait bust is powerfully expressive, having been carved with great sensitivity, and the dark wood now has a high patina.