Nsapo-Nsapo Maternity, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Collection of Paul Timmermans (1930-1977), Louvain, acquired from a Nsapo-Nsapo chief before 1959

Collection Aaron Furman, Spain

Galerie Monbrison, Paris

Tilburg, Tilburg Museum, Ziekte en Dood in Africa, 1963

Brussels, Galerie Monbrison, BRAFA, 23–31 January 2016

Timmermans P., "Les Sapo Sapo près de Luluabourg", in Africa-Tervuren, VIII, 1962, p. 37, fig. 6

Gillon, W., Collecting African Art, Londres, Studio Vista and Christie's, 1979, pp. 37 et 133, n° 165a

Cole, H. M., Maternity. Mothers and children in the arts of Africa, Bruxelles, Fonds Mercator, 2017, p. 198, n° 173

Galerie Monbrison, TEFAF, 2020, p. 22

The Nsapo-Nsapo borrowed this type of maternity figure from their neighbours, the Bena Lulua. They belong to Bwanga bwa cibola, a social group that dealt with issues of human fertility and was part of the complex magical-religious world of the Lulua people. In this world, ritual healers known as mupaki or mpaka manga possessed mystical powers and played an essential role within the community as they controled supernatural forces. The manga were often called upon to stimulate fertility or protect pregnant women and newborns. They use objects of power, or bwanga, as vessels for supernatural forces.

This maternal figure is adorned with numerous ritual elements: an animal horn atop its head, a shell and another horn tied around its neck. The child’s enlarged belly centers on a small receptacle designed to hold magical substances, placed at navel level. The mother sits in a hieratic posture. Her right hand holds a small bowl, while her left supports the child sitting on her lap. The disproportionately large head displays idealized features. The almond-shaped eyes seem to be wide open. Incised, curved brows come together to shape a prominent triangular nose. The mouth is clearly defined.

In 1962, Philippe Timmermans posited in an article devoted to the Nsapo Nsapo and published in the Tervuren Africa review that a single artist or workshop may have produced the entire known body of work from this region. [1] 

Designed with a keen sense of balance, this exceedingly rare maternity figure is a fine exemplar of the unique Nsapo-Nsapo style.

[1] Timmermans P., "Les Sapo Sapo près de Luluabourg", in Africa-Tervuren, VIII, 1962, pp. 36-37