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12 UMMA Objects
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This carved, wooden Yaka figure depicts a man standing with an animal perched atop his head. The carving is stylized and exhibits characteristics typically seen among northern Yaka figural representations: flexed knees; arms bent with upturned palms positioned at shoulder level; and, an animal figure upon its head. In this case, the creature has a curved body and appears to be an anteater. The male figure has a narrow, cylindrical body; a slightly protruding belly; a simple coiffure; an elongated face; barely-open eyes from which vertical lines extend downward; a disproportionately large, pointed nose, and a darkened beard.
Yaka (Yaka (Kwango-Kwilu region style))
Figure
1915 – 1925
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.193
This carved wooden figure depicts a standing male, and is one of a pair that includes a female figure also carved by the same hand. According to noted art historian Niangi Batulukisi, these two figures deviate from the classical Bembe style and are “an extreme rarity” due to the fact that they are likely connected to an ancient pre-Bembe style.<br /><br /> The male figure’s trunk is disproportionately long, while the legs are slightly flexed at the knees. His facial features includes closed eyes set in round, ocular cavities and a perfectly rounded, open mouth.  The hairstyle bears geometric motifs. Most striking, however, is that medicinal substances have been tied around the male’s entire torso--indeed from his neck to his pelvis--by tightly-wound, resin-covered strings. Moreover, a hole appears on the crown of his head, likely intended for the placement of an animal horn containing even more medicinal ingredients. A small sliver of a white shell appears across the figure’s chest. Traces of tukula powder ca
Bembe (Bembe (Kongo))
Male Figure
1865 – 1875
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.196.2
Wooden, approximately oval-shaped bowl with inset brass eyes on one end, making it look like an animal. 
Northeastern Woodlands
Feast Bowl
1850 – 1875
Museum purchase made possible by a gift from Helmut Stern
1985/2.57
This wooden staff has pieces of cloth wrapped on both extensions. One end depicts an abstract anthropomorphic face, while the other appears to function as a handle and is embellished with two strings of black and white beads and a loop of blue and white beads.
Kongo (Kongo (culture or style))
Staff
1900 – 1950
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
2001/2.73
This carved wooden figure depicts a standing female, and is one of a pair that includes a male figure also carved by the same hand. According to noted art historian Niangi Batulukisi, these two figures deviate from the classical Bembe style and are “an extreme rarity” due to the fact that they are likely connected to an ancient pre-Bembe style.<br /><br /> The female figure’s trunk is disproportionately long, while the legs appear stockier and are slightly flexed at the knees. Her facial features include narrow eyes set in round, ocular cavities and an open mouth. The hairstyle is of a simple design. The breasts and the umbilicus protrude outward, the shoulders curve inward, and the palms of the hand rest upon either side of the abdomen. Traces of tukula powder can be found upon the figure’s surface.<br /><br /> It is almost certain that the female figure’s torso was at one point wrapped with medicinal ingredients, just like her male counterpart. Moreover, a hole appears on the crown of her head, likely inten
Bembe (Bembe (Kongo))
Female Figure
1865 – 1875
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.196.1
This finely detailed, wooden Wongo cup bears three anthropomorphic faces carved in relief: a large, central face and two smaller, diamond-shaped faces to either side. The remaining areas of the body of the cup are completely covered in an elaborate diamond-shape pattern, a characteristic commonly seen in Wongo and Kuba objects. The cup’s faces exhibit the stylistic influence of the neighboring Kuba, as evidenced by the scarifications on the central face that extend from its temples to its ears; the large, triangular nose; and the half closed coffeebean-shaped eyes. The other two faces closely resemble the center face but lack ears and scarifications. The cup has a curved handle while the interior is smooth and polished.
Wongo (Wongo)
Cup
1905 – 1915
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.210
This exquisite Vili whistle (<em>nsiba</em>) is has two separate components: the body of the whistle is a gazelle horn that has been placed through a small, conical hole in the rounded base of a delicately carved wooden cap. Upon this cap, two nearly identical birds, with their talons clutching the base, stand face-to-face and chest-to-chest, grasping onto a single spherical object representing a peanut between their open beaks. Given this motif, the carving naturally possesses a high degree of symmetry and balance. The cap is further embellished by a smooth and polished finish.
Vili (Kongo) (Vili)
Whistle
1850 – 1900
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.181
This ovoid, wooden Bembe mask depicts a human face. The right half of the face, however, has been painted black, creating a bifurcated appearance. Its facial characteristics include large, almond-shape eyes set in rounded, ocular cavities; a slender nose; and, an open mouth painted white. Most striking, however, are the long, black and white porcupine quills that have been carefully tied around the mask’s perimeter, yielding a dramatic, formidable look.
Bembe (Bembe (Kongo))
Mask
1935 – 1945
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.195
This smooth, wooden Pende staff features a finial depicting a standing, male figure bearing half-moon eyes, a terraced coiffure with decorative motifs, an elongated trunk, angular curves at the elbows and buttocks, and hands placed in front of the stomach below the navel. The feet are carved as one piece (forming the base of the finial), with small incisions for the individual toes. The left arm has been damaged.  
Pende (Pende)
Staff
1900 – 1950
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
2001/2.47
This short, elaborately carved Kongo staff features a diverse range of forms, both anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. From the top, a standing male figure wears a Western-style suit and brimmed hat and holds a small box in his hands; below, an unclothed standing female figure carries a child on her back. Further down are smaller figural representations: a kneeling figure in a position of prayer, a turtle, and a bird on one side and a bird, a turtle, a ram’s horn, and a cross on the other.  
Kongo (Kongo (culture or style))
Staff
1900 – 1950
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
2001/2.64
This wooden, zoomorphic Bembe <em>alunga</em> mask represents an owl. The mask has an elongated, bell-shaped form, with much of its base pigmented black. The owl has two white, oval-shaped, concave oracular cavities with protruding, half-moon eyes and a long, narrow beak. The foot of the mask features two serpents that have been carved in relief and painted red, both of which are surrounded by white, geometric motifs.  
Bembe (Bembe (Kongo))
Mask
1925 – 1935
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
2005/1.194
This curved wooden Pende staff features a finial depicting a human head bearing simple facial features and a cap-like coiffure composed of vertical lines. The staff’s handle is in the shape of a narrow loop that connects the front of the figure’s head to the back of its head. A slender serpent carved with a snake-skin pattern slithers upwards from the lower end of the staff.
Pende (Pende)
Staff
1900 – 19750
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
2001/2.67
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