IMPORTANT EASTERN KUYU JANUS FIGURE ALIMA HIGHLANDS, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Wood H.: 90 cm (35³?? in.) An important Eastern Kuyu Janus figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo Provenance: Probably collected by Aristide Courtois (1883–1962), a French colonial administrator in Gabon between 1910 and 1938, to whom we owe a large number of the Kuyu (Kebe-Kebe) heads now held in museums, as well as almost all of the earliest known free-standing Kuyu figures Pierre Dartevelle (1940–2022), Brussels Jean-Jacques Rotthier (1932–2009) Collection, Brussels, then passed down through the family Exhibitions: Brussels (Belgium), David Adjaye’s GEO-Graphics. Mapping Artistic Practices in Africa, Past and Present, BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, 9 June – 26 September 2010 Bibliography: Bouttiaux (Anne-Marie) and Kouoh (Koyo) (eds.), David Adjaye’s GEO-Graphics. Mapping Artistic Practices in Africa, Past and Present, Milan / Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 2010, p. 257 Key bibliography: Poupon (David), An Ethnographic Study of the Kouyou Tribe, Revue d’anthropologie, vol. 29, 1918–1919 Amrouche (Pierre), Aristide Courtois, the Hut-Burner, Arts & Cultures, Geneva, 2006, pp. 180–189 Bénézech (Anne-Marie), The Djo Ceremony among the Kouyou. An Attempt to Reconstruct a Cosmogony in Northern Congo-Brazzaville, Paris, 2021 This Janus-like figure, or Okue, was carved to take part in the ritual ceremonies of the Djo, during which the Kuyu cosmogony is re-enacted and the founding narrative of their origins is passed down. Accounts collected in the early 20th century by the colonial administrator Alfred Poupon identify Djo as the primordial ancestor and the creator deity of the Kuyu universe. This deity is conceived as a hybrid entity, both serpent and human, masculine and feminine. The geometric incisions on the surface of the sculpture evoke the scales of this mythical serpent. The work’s double-sided composition visually conveys the intrinsic duality of the god Djo. From a stylistic perspective, the figure adopts a rigid and introspective posture: the head appears to be drawn in towards the shoulders, the gaze is fixed straight ahead, and the arms remain pressed tightly against the torso. This distinctive posture refers to the depiction of a chief or ritual dignitary engaged in active communion with the world of the ancestors. This work belongs to an extremely limited corpus of Kuyu Janiform figures documented to date, the majority of which are held in museum collections. In 2010, this sculpture was selected for inclusion in the exhibition *David Adjaye’s GEO-Graphics: A Map of Art Practices in Africa, Past and Present*, organised by the architect David Adjaye at BOZAR – the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. As part of this event, this significant sculpture was juxtaposed with contemporary works to highlight the continuity, transformations and vitality of African artistic traditions. Looking both to the past and to the future, it thus reaffirmed, once again, its profoundly Janus-like nature. AN IMPORTANT EASTERN KUYU JANUS FIGURE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Wood H.: 35³?? in. Provenance: Probably collected by Aristide Courtois (1883–1962), a French colonial administrator in Gabon, between 1910 and 1938. Courtois was responsible for collecting a large number of the Kuyu (Kebe-Kebe) heads now preserved in museum collections, as well as virtually all of the earliest known autonomous Kuyu figures. Pierre Dartevelle (1940–2022), Brussels Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection (1932–2009), Brussels, then by descent Exhibitions: Brussels, Belgium, David Adjaye’s GEO-Graphics. Mapping Artistic Practices in Africa, Past and Present, BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, 9 June – 26 September 2010 Bibliography: Bouttiaux (Anne-Marie) and Kouoh (Koyo) (eds.), David Adjaye’s GEO-Graphics. Mapping Artistic Practices in Africa, Past and Present, Milan / Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2010, p. 257 Further reading: Poupon (David), An Ethnographic Study of the Kouyou Tribe, Revue d’anthropologie, vol. 29, 1918–1919 Amrouche (Pierre), Aristide Courtois, the Hut-Burner, Arts & Cultures, Geneva, 2006, pp. 180–189 Bénézech (Anne-Marie), The Djo Ceremony among the Kouyou. An Attempt to Reconstruct a Cosmogony in Northern Congo-Brazzaville, Paris, 2021 This Janus-like figure, or Okue, was carved for use in Djo ceremonies, ritual performances that publicly re-enacted Kuyu cosmogony and recounted the creation myth. Early twentieth-century accounts by the colonial administrator Alfred Poupon identify Djo as the primordial ancestor and creator deity of the Kuyu universe. This divinity is conceived as a hybrid being—both serpent and human, male and female. The incised geometric scarifications represent the scales of this mythical serpent. The dual-faced composition of the sculpture expresses the inherent duality of Djo. Stylistically, the figure is characterised by a rigid, self-contained posture: the head appears compressed into the shoulders, the gaze is directed outwards, and the arms are closely integrated with the torso. This distinctive posture denotes a chief or ritual specialist engaged in active communion with the ancestral realm. This work belongs to a very small body of documented Kuyu Janus figures, the majority of which are now held in museum collections. In 2010, the sculpture was selected for inclusion in the exhibition *GEO-Graphics: A Map of Art Practices in Africa, Past and Present*, curated by architect David Adjaye at BOZAR. As part of the exhibition, this historic masterpiece was displayed alongside contemporary works to demonstrate the continuity, evolution and enduring vitality of African artistic traditions. In this respect, the sculpture may itself be understood as a Janus figure, looking simultaneously towards the past and the future.