SONGYE FIGURE Wood, horn, brass tacks, metal and various materials - 34 cm / 48,5 cm D.R.Congo Nkisi. In “Songye. La Redoutable Statuaire Songye d'Afrique Centrale”, François Neyt associates our figure with a group of four presenting the same stylistic features, more precisely from the second tradition. Two of them have been photographed by Emile Torday in 1910 in the Palace of the Kuba King in Mushenge. The Kuba King, Kot a Pey, in an attempt to protect himself against the magical power of his predecessors and therefore to establish his reign, ordered several Songye figures from a very renowned Songye carver. This is how powerful these figures were considered, even by their high-rank neighbors. Published: Neyt, Songye. La Redoutable Statuaire Songye d'Afrique Centrale, 2004, p. 107, n° 69 Provenance: Galerie Pierre Dartevelle, acquired in the 1970s Galerie Philippe Guimiot, Brussels Private Collection, Belgium By descent A Private Collection, Belgium In times where privacy has become an increasingly rare commodity, we appreciate the heirs to have respected the collector's wish to remain anonymous. Anonymous as he may be, his passion and demanding nature speak clearly through his choices.