KONGO MATERNITY FIGURE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Wood H.: 35 cm (13³?? in.) A Kongo maternity figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo Provenance: Colonial Collection, Brussels Galerie Didier Claes, Brussels Collection of Jean-Jacques Rotthier (1932–2009), Brussels, then passed down through the family  Among the Yombe, one of the main groups within the vast Kongo cultural complex, descent and clan membership are determined by the maternal line. A special place is accorded to the founders of the clans, known as mphemba. The tall headdresses worn by women also bear this name, in reference to this ancestral role and the prestige associated with it. This sculpture depicts a founding ancestor holding her child in her arms. It forms part of a collection of works associated with a Kongo female cult dedicated to fertility and the continuity of the lineage, which flourished particularly between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. Women at that time enjoyed a special status and exercised social and ritual responsibilities that went beyond the roles usually attributed to their gender. They thus played an essential role in the transmission of life, identity and authority within Kongo society. A KONGO MATERNITY FIGURE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Wood H.: 13³?? in. Provenance: Colonial Collection, Brussels Didier Claes Gallery, Brussels Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection (1932–2009), Brussels, then by descent Among the Yombe, a subgroup of the Kongo peoples, descent is traced through the maternal line, and particular importance is accorded to the female founders of the clans, known as mpemba. The distinctive high caps worn by women are likewise called mphemba, a reference to this ancestral role. This sculpture depicts a female clan progenitor holding her descendant. It forms part of a body of related works associated with a Kongo women’s cult centred on fertility and the continuity of lineage, which flourished between the mid-eighteenth and the mid-nineteenth century. Within this context, women assumed both female and male social and ritual functions, reflecting their central role in the transmission of life, identity and authority.