Kongo Bronze Crucifix Antique African Cross Congo Start Price USD 3,495.00 Current Price USD 3,495.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, July 24, 2008 End Time Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Location Santa Fe, NM See more about 'Kongo Bronze Crucifix Antique African Cross Congo' Description   A Fine Kongo Bakongo Bronze Christ on CrossAntique African Crucifix Democratic Republic of Congo Zaire     An Exquisite Early Kongo Bakongo Christ on the CrossAntique African Crucifix - Tribal Sculpture Christian Religious Icon - DCR Congo Zaire Collected from the: Kongo Bakongo peoples in the Atlantic Coast region of Zaire, Central AfricaMaterial: Bronze, old lost wax casting of copper/tin alloyPeriod: 17th century, conservativelyDimensions: 8.5" height, 4" width, 5/8" depth; weight is 10.8 ounces Condition: Pristine - NO damage or repair; iconography, casting method and quality, surface condition, tool signatures, and refined metal content declare this crucifix the work of an early master caster, clearly intended for ritual tribal use - splendid symmetry and form ! From a private Parisian collection, this early, exquisitely cast Christian relic exhibits the iconography, casting quality, tool signatures, minute surface imperfections (known as 'blow holes', created from bubbles in the molten metal during the casting process), refined metal content and distinct lack of 'pot metal' alloys that testify to an early period of creation. The ritual oiling of respectful care resulted in a glorious, deep patina, liberal brassy highlights, exposed through frequent handling, greatly enhance the personality of this magnificent work; verdigris at the very end may suggest that this cross was 'planted' upright in the earth for use and/or display. This important, much used, museum quality piece is an exceptionally rare find ! Based on European prototypes, early Kongo renditions of this subject depict Christ with naturalistically modeled arms, legs, and torso that emphasize musculature whereas later examples of this style suggest a more profound assimilation of the cross with local idioms. In this work, Christ's facial features and hair are that of a Kongolese subject. His hands and feet are flattened and the feet are joined into a single five-toed limb, which, according to interpretations of Kongo gestures, affords heightened spiritual power. The large protruding oval eyes, a common motif in Kongo art, represent the supernatural vision of a human who is possessed by an ancestor or deity. Below Christ and above his shoulders are four small, highly stylized orant (praying figures) whose role and identities are thought to be mourners, ancestors, angels, saints or even apostles. Considered an emblem of spiritual authority and power, the Christian cross was integrated into Kongo ancestral cults and burial rituals, and was believed to contain magical protective properties that could intervene in matters ranging from illness and fertility to rainfall. Please click on the photos below to fully appreciate this spectacular old crucifix! And be sure to see the fascinating AFRICAN SCULPTURES in our eBay store! Or explore our beautiful AFRICAN BRONZES ! Click Images to Enlarge Kongo Bakongo Christian Crucifixes:Crucifixes played an important role in the elaborate ritual life of the Christian Kingdom of Kongo. Though a primary emblem of Christianity, the cross was already a fundamental motif of the Kongo core belief systems prior to the first European contact. Known as the Four Moments of the Sun, a circle around a Roman cross depicted the four divisions of the day—dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight—which represented the cyclical journey of a human life from birth to the afterlife of the ancestors. Considered an emblem of spiritual authority and power, the Christian cross was integrated into Kongo ancestral cults and burial rituals, and was believed to contain magical protective properties. In Kongo culture, crosses were believed to intervene in matters ranging from illness and fertility to rainfall. They raise questions about the production and reception of artistic forms within diverse cultures, pointing to the inevitable shifts in meaning that would gradually remove the Catholic connotation of Kongo crucifixes, turning them into vehicles for the transmission of original local concepts and beliefs. In particular, as it had been perceived by the Kongo people before the arrival of Europeans, the cross was a visual analogy of their own relationship to their world, a crossroads between ‘this world’ (nza yayi) and ‘the land of the dead’ (nsi a bafwa). Such shifts in meaning remained in use into the 20th century and were visually reinforced by shifts in form which incorporated traditional decorative elements into later period productions. Kongo Bakongo Tribal HistoryAt its height in the fifteenth century, the Kongo kingdom was one of the largest in all of sub-Saharan Africa; spanning 115,000 square miles, it had a highly centralized monarchy as well as a powerful noble class. Often termed the "greatest of kingdoms" in Central Africa, the former Kongo kingdom unified the areas of lower Zaire, the Cabinda region, and northwest Angola. Six provinces were directed by a governor under the authority of a single King who was chosen by a council of tribal governors and ruled from his seat of power in the Mbanza capital. Centered on their extremely strong monarchy, the elaborate social structure was pervasive across a complex system of trade and interchange between the forest of the north and the coast and savannah plains to the south. The urban nobility sustained its luxurious lifestyle through a heavy tax system levied on the rural peasant class. Bulk products from the provinces, including copper, salt, wild animal products, as well as cloth and later human slaves, were traded to the Portuguese. The Kongo first encountered Christianity when the Portuguese landed on the African coast in 1482. By 1485 missionaries were living at the royal court while Congolese nobles visited Portugal. Important trade relationships were solidified when the Kongo King Nzinga (baptized as Alfonso I) converted to Christianity of his own free will in 1491, urging the Kongo nobility and peasant classes to follow suit, thereby strengthening ties with his counterpart in Portugal and allowing the kings of Kongo to participate in an international community of leaders beyond Portugal that included the Vatican. The Kongo kings found that local religious beliefs had significant parallels with Christianity and so they were easily able to synthesize the two. They did not feel that they had renounced one for the other. The kingdom remained Christian to varying degrees for the next 200 years though scholars continue to dispute the authenticity of the Kongolese Christian faith and the degree to which the adoption of a new faith was motivated by political and economic realities. Despite the noble’s conversion to Christianity, the Bakongo people continued their ancestral worship and traditional beliefs even into the huge contingent of Bakongo populations among the New World. The art of the Lower Zaire River has typically been described as ‘Kongo art,’ but it actually contains numerous sub-styles, the detailed analysis of which has barely begun. The Kongo kingdom influenced the Vili, Yombe, Bembe, Bwende, Sundi, Dondo and Woyo who, as an integral part of this grand empire, produced sculpture that contained the same artistic themes: maternity figures, seated kings, prestige objects and nail fetishes. Art among peoples of the western portion of the Congo basin was used in leadership, funerary, and commemorative contexts, for the manipulation of mystical powers, and during rites of passage. Art proclaimed the authority of the Kongo kings, who were viewed as sacred. Luxury goods testified to their status, wealth, and privilege. Figures, stools, staffs of office, textiles, and other wonderfully embellished utilitarian objects set the king and his chiefs apart from commoners and established their right to rule. ‘Kongo art’ has justly been called one of the most remarkable in all of Africa. Its long history, and the variety and quality of its works, amply justify its fame. Three million Kongo people now occupy the Atlantic Coast region of Zaire, Congo, and Angola, in present-day Gabon." See Africa: The Art of a Continent for further details. Cat. # kcrk2 ************************************************************************************ THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING SANTA FE AFRICAN ART !!! 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