Yombe maternity figure - Pfemba or Phemba
There are a LOT of images on this page
THE EXAMPLES BELOW ARE FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY
THESE FIGURES ARE NOT IN MY COLLECTION

Other examples of varied styles for reference purposes

Maternity figures are among the most renown in African art because of their easily recognizable theme, their classical form and their fine workmanship.
Maternity figurines (pfemba) are thought to have first been used in rituals addressing women's infertility, and were decorated in a red paste. In Kongo
iconology, the colour red symbolizes transitional phases such as birth and death, as well as ritual practices. The figures' mitred hairstyles are a reminder
of a fashion once popular among Mayombe men and women; the knitted bonnet or mpu suggests high rank. Women from this region often had intricate
patterns of scarification on their bodies, made by rubbing substances into incisions in the skin. These keloid tattoos increased a woman's sexual appeal
— without scarifications a woman might be mocked because she was "as slippery as a fish." Filed teeth also reflect the Kongo ideal of female beauty.

Click on most any image to see larger version
Female figure with child
Kongo peoples
Mayombe region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mid 19th-early 20th century
Wood (Nauclea latifolia), glass, glass beads, brass tacks, pigment
H x W x D: 25.7 x 10.5 x 10.2 cm (10 1/8 x 4 1/8 x 4 in.)
National Museum of African Art
The figure of a mother and child is an icon of Kongo art. It is not a simple genre theme, but a statement of the spiritual power supporting society,
the need for fertility and the promise of future generations. These figures possibly are connected with mpemba, a women's cult said to have been
founded by a famous midwife and concerned with fertility and the treatment of infertility. Mpemba seems to have grown at the same time the slave
trade intensified, from 1770 to 1850; an increased concern for children seems a logical development. There are also ties to the Lemba cult, which
also arose during the slave trade period, whose members were the wealthy mercantile elite. Lemba was concerned with healing, trade and
marriage relations, and it redistributed potentially disruptive wealth among kin and shrines. Inside a special box, members kept significant cult
objects including a sack of red pigment, symbolizing the female element, called pfemba lemba. Red pigment originally was rubbed on these
figures; only traces remain. Costly and distinctively modeled metal bracelets were a Lemba emblem and may be represented on the figure. The
figure is seated, legs crossed, atop a small base. This pose conveys the prestige of high political and social status, as do a number of other
details. It is depicted wearing a close-fitting hat, traditionally made of knotted raffia or pineapple leaf fiber. This type of hat was worn by chiefs at
the time of their investiture and by noblewomen who would give birth to future rulers. Brass tacks and imported glass beads adorn the figure as
well. The imported glass inset in the eyes shares the same glittering aesthetic but also refers to the ability to see the invisible spiritual world.
Other attributes of the figure are associated with beauty, perfection and high rank. The chest cord serves to emphasize the breasts. Scarification
was viewed as erotic and beautiful; it marked physical maturity and assured conception. The chiseled teeth also were considered beautiful.
Examining similar figures makes it possible to identify artists' hands or workshops. Six extant figures are in the style of the figure, all of which have
been attributed by Ezio Bassani (1981) to a carver he designates the Master of the de Briey Maternity (Africa Museum, Tervuren, no. 24662).
Stylistic differences exist among even these six, and further research on attribution and dating is needed. A final note should be made concerning
the child depicted, which looks more like a small adult rather than a real infant. Leo Bittremieux, priest and ethnographer, in a 1939 letter to the
Africa Museum in Tervuren, wrote that "Phemba" denotes "the one who gives children-in-potentia." A pfemba child is a magically conceived nkisi
child, a fragile emissary of the spirit world. Because the child is unexpressive and supine, it has been described as dead. Since a number of the
infants either nurse at or touch their mother's breast, there are either two different subjects or death takes an unusual definition. On this figure,
the child holds his penis erect while touching the mother's breast. The gesture could be a reference to fertility, metaphorically referring to the
seeds of creation or to the belief that those who die will be reborn. So death, or the spirit world, may not be estranged from life in Kongo beliefs.
National Museum of African Art
From the book: African Faces, African Figures; The Arman Collection of African Art
Maternity Figure: pfemba
Kongo-Mayombe Democratic Republic of Congo
Wood, leather, metal, mirror
H: 31 cm (12.1 inches)

Exhibitions:
Arts  primitifs   dans   les   ateliers   d'artistes,
Musee de l'Homme, Paris 1967.
Masterpieces of the People's Republic of the Congo, Denver 1981.

Publications:
— Arts primitifs Jans les ateliers d'artistes, Musee l'Homme, Paris, no. 103.
— J. Kerchache, L'Art africain, Mazenod, no. 236.
— Masterpieces of the People's Republic of the Congo, Denver 1981, no. 9.
— R.  Lehuard, Le phemba du Mayombe, 1977, no. 26.
— F. Willet, African Art, 1971, no. 241, p. 245.
A really wonderful figure, I love the expressiveness in the face of this figure.

SOTHEBY'S ART AFRICAIN ET OCÉANIEN, COLLECTION PAOLO MORIGI
SALE PF5027  AUCTION DATE 06 Dec 05 2:30 PM.
LOCATION - Paris  

LOT 105
IMPORTANTE MATERNITÉ, KONGO/YOMBÉ , RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

ESTIMATE 70,000—90,000 EUR

MEASUREMENTS
haut. 31,5 cm
12 in

DESCRIPTION
pfemba, représentant une femme assise coiffée d'une calotte hémisphérique, les jambes croisées, les mains aux positions asymétriques tenant
l'enfant allongé. Le mouvement simultané du buste - penché en avant - et de la tête - légèrement relevée, met en valeur le visage puissant. Les
traits sont réalistes, et très finement modelés : yeux figurés par des éclats de faïence, les pupilles indiquées, paupières supérieures et sourcils
délicatement arqués, la bouche ouverte aux lèvres ourlées entrouvertes sur une rangée de dents taillées. Très grande finesse et régularité dans le
décor gravé du pagne et de la coiffe. Très belle patine, brun nuancé, avec rehauts de noir de fumée sur le vêtement, les cheveux et les joues, et
de kaolin sur la coiffe, dans les creux de la gravure.

Condition Note: La partie supérieure de l'enfant cassée, recollée. Un pouce manque.

PROVENANCE
Ancienne collection Bischofsberger, Zurich

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES
Reproduite dans :
Lehuard, 1989 vol. II : 480

Exposée et reproduite dans :
Un' arte par la bellezza : cosmesi e salute nei secoli, 1984 : n°71, catalogue de l'exposition, Padoue et Villa Malpensata, Lugano, octobre-
décembre 1984

CATALOGUE NOTE
An important Yombe/Kongo maternity figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo

In plastic terms, this pfemba maternity figure is remarkable for the great beauty of the head – set off to perfection by the pose – whose fine
dimensions create a combination of gentleness, intensity and balance.

Lehuard (1989, vol. II: 480 - 481) classifies the sculpture as being in sub-style J 3 of Yombe statuary; in his view, it prefigures "statues carved for
use as funerary figures". He characterises this style by the "particular attention paid to the face, which reflects a sort of gentleness", the
suppleness of the attitude and the high quality of carving in the details. On the subject of the Paolo Morigi maternity figure, he also stresses a mark
in relief of two superimposed rectangles "never seen before".
An ad that I came across that featured this
piece in the Paolo Morigi Gallery in the
November 1981 African Arts publication
Image above from the book:
To cure and Protect - Sickness and Health in African Art

Mother and Child.
Yombe, Kongo peoples, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Angola. Wood, H. 16 in. Private collection.
From the book: Art of Central Africa - Masterpieces from the Berlin Museum für Völkerkunde
KNEELING WOMAN AND CHILD
Congo and Zaire; Yombe, 19th century
Wood, H. 11 3/4 in. (30 cm.)
Gift of Wilhelm Joest, 1896    III C 6286

Figures representing a woman with a child are common in the art of the Kongo peoples of Lower Zaire, especially among the Yombe. The mother is
often depicted with the marks of high social status and consciously acquired beauty: a high miter-shaped hairstvle, hied teeth, a necklace of glass
or coral beads, a cord tied above the breasts, and bracelets and armbands.

Although such figures are usually depicted seated with crossed legs, this one crouches with one knee on the ground, the other raised. The baby,
who nurses eagerly at one breast and reaches toward the other, lies awkwardly across the mother's lap, its head cupped in her hand. The mother
rests her other hand, palm upward, on a pottery jar at her side.

A Yombe wooden mother-and-child figure in the Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale in Tervuren is reported by its collector, Leo Bittremieux, to have
been owned by a powerful male diviner for whom it represented the source of his own divinatory and generative powers. It was called phemba, a
word that Bittremieux thought to be derived from kivemba, meaning to broadcast or eject, as in the seeds of potential children which accumulate in
either a man or a woman. Thus, rather than representing a particular woman and child, or even a concept as specific as motherhood, the Yombe
image of a nurturing woman may express the more general idea of fertility and creativity as it applies to all people, male as well as female (Maesen
1960: pi. i; van Geluwe 1978: 147-50).

The figure was given to the Berlin museum by Wilhelm Joest (1852-98), an anthropology professor whose vast collection of objects from around
the world formed the basis for the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne. HJK/KE
Kongo peoples
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo,
Cabinda Province, Angola
Late 19th-early 20th century
Wood, brass tacks, pigment
H x W x D: 24.8 x 8.6 x 7.6 cm (9 3/4 x 3 3/8 x 3 in.)
National Museum of African Art
The figure of a mother and child is an icon of Kongo art. It is not a simple genre theme, but a statement of the spiritual power supporting society,
the need for fertility and the promise of future generations. These figures possibly are connected with mpemba, a women's cult said to have been
founded by a famous midwife, and concerned with fertility and the treatment of infertility. Mpemba seems to have grown at the same time the
slave trade intensified, from 1770 to 1850; an increased concern for children seems a logical development. There are also ties to the Lemba cult,
which also arose during the slave trade period, whose members were the wealthy mercantile elite. Lemba was concerned with healing, trade and
marriage relations, and it redistributed potentially disruptive wealth among kin and shrines. Inside a special box, members kept significant cult
objects including a sack of red pigment, symbolizing the female element, called pfemba lemba. Red pigment originally was rubbed on these
figures; only traces remain. The figure is seated, legs crossed, atop a small base. This pose conveys the prestige of high political and social
status, as do a number of other details.The flaring hairstyle is also a traditional perquisite of high status, a standing reinforced by the presence of
imported European brass tacks, a precious trade item. The imported glass originally inset in the eyes shared the same glittering aesthetic but
also refers to the ability to see the invisible spiritual world. Other attributes of these figures are associated with beauty, perfection and high rank.
The chest cord serves to emphasize the breasts. Scarification was viewed as erotic and beautiful; it marked physical maturity and assured
conception. The chiseled teeth also were considered beautiful. A final note should be made concerning the child depicted, which looks more like
a small adult rather than a real infant. Leo Bittremieux, priest and ethnographer, in a 1939 letter to the Africa Museum in Tervuren, wrote that
"Phemba" denotes "the one who gives children-in-potentia." A pfemba child is a magically conceived nkisi child, a fragile emissary of the spirit
world. Because the child is unexpressive and supine, it has been described as dead. Since a number of the infants either nurse at or touch their
mother's breast, there are either two different subjects or death takes an unusual definition. On one figure, the child holds his penis erect while
touching the mother's breast. The gesture could be a reference to fertility, metaphorically referring to the seeds of creation or to the belief that
those who die will be reborn. So death, or the spirit world, may not be estranged from life in Kongo beliefs.
National Museum of African Art
Kongo peoples
Mayombe region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Late 19th-early 20th century
Wood, metal, brass tacks, resin, pigment
H x W x D: 24.4 x 9.2 x 8.9 cm (9 5/8 x 3 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
National Museum of African Art
The image of mother and child is an icon of Kongo art. It is not a simple genre theme, but a statement of the spiritual power supporting society, the
need for fertility and the promise of future generations. Mother-and-child figures possibly are connected with Mpemba, a women's cult concerned with
fertility and the treatment of infertility, which is said to have been founded by a famous midwife. Mpemba seems to have grown at the same time the
slave trade intensified, from 1770 to 1850; an increased concern for children seems a logical development. This type of figure may also have ties to
the Lemba cult, which arose during the slave trade period and whose members were the wealthy mercantile elite. Lemba was concerned with healing,
trade and marriage relations, and it redistributed potentially disruptive wealth among kin and shrines. Inside a special box, members kept significant
cult objects including a sack of red pigment, symbolizing the female element, called pfemba lemba. Red pigment was once rubbed on this figure; only
traces remain. Costly and distinctively modeled metal bracelets were a Lemba emblem and may be represented by the bracelets carved on this figure.
The mother figure is seated, legs crossed, atop a small base. This pose conveys the prestige of high political and social status, as do other details
including metal earrings and a representation of a leopard-tooth necklace. The mother is depicted wearing a close-fitting hat traditionally made of
knotted raffia or pineapple leaf fiber. This type of hat was worn by chiefs at the time of their investiture and by noblewomen who would give birth to
future rulers. Brass tacks adorn the figure as well. Other attributes of the figure are associated with beauty, perfection and high rank. The chest cord
serves to emphasize the breasts. Scarification was viewed as erotic and beautiful; it marked physical maturity and assured conception. The chiseled
teeth also were considered beautiful.
National Museum of African Art
Yombe maternity figure
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
American Museum of Natural History, NY
FIGURE, FEMALE/CHILD [90.2/ 5048]
AFRICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Culture: KONGO  
Country: ANGOLA?
Material: WOOD, PIGMENT, MIRRORED GLASS
Dimensions: L:9.4 W:7.8 H:23 [in CM]
Donor: LANBIN
Acquisition Year: 1965
American Museum of Natural History, NY
FIGURES, FEMALE, CHILD [90.2/ 5047]
AFRICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Culture: KONGO  
Country: ZAIRE?, CONGO?
Material: WOOD,GLASS,STAIN,PIGMENT,CLOTH(FELT)
Dimensions: W:9.3 H:24.7 [in CM]
Donor: LANBIN
Acquisition Year: 1965
American Museum of Natural History, NY
FIGURES, FEMALE/CHILD [90.2/ 5049]
AFRICAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Culture: KONGO  
Country: ANGOLA?
Donor: LANBIN
Acquisition Year: 1965
Photos (not very good ones) that I took of the display of the Yombe figures at the American Museum of Natural History in NY in May 2005
Sotheby's Property from the Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G.
Peris Collection of Tribal Art
Lot 31 May 1995
A Yombe Female Figure, seated on a stool with one
hand resting on the knee and the other holding a
container, the full hips beneath a slender columnar
torso with prominent navel and conical projecting
breasts, with a forward-thrust¬ing elliptical head with
oval eyes inset with white porcelain, and wearing a
tapering conical headdress banded by a dec¬orative
sash with a cowrie shell carved at the front, two strings
of black beads around the neck; fine aged honey
brown patina. Height 9 in. (22.9 cm.)
Provenance:
JJ. Klejman, New York, 1974

estimate $5,000-7,000
sold $3500
Sotheby's Property of an East Coast Private Collector
Lot  126 - May 1996
A Superb Yornbe Maternity Figure, seated on a square base, the
crossed legs with flattened enlarged feet beneath a cylindrical torso with
conical breasts, and the rounded shoulders issuing elongated arms
terminating in naturalistic hands holding an elongated baby lying on its
back, the female with an elongated neck, an enlarged head with pointed
chin, and open mouth showing incised triangular teeth, the naturalistic
triangular nose between semi circular hollowed eyes inset with mirrors
under domed brow, the high forehead with incised curved eyebrows,
framed by flared elongated pierced ears, all beneath a high upraised
flattened coiffure inset with brass nails, carved bracelets encircling the
wrists, and necklaces around the waist and breast, raised scarification
on the torso and back; dark brown patina on the base and the coiffure,
fine light brown patina. Height 127/sin. (32.7cm.)
Provenance:
The British Museum, London
Ralph Nash, London
JJ. Klejman, New York
For a comparison of styles of Yombe maternity figures see Kercbache,
The Art of Africa, 1993:figs. 233-236.
estimate $25,000-35,000
Sotheby's - The Kuhn Collection of African Art - November 1991  Lot 86
A Yombe Maternity Figure, phemba, seated on a square base with powerful legs crossed and delineated toes pointed to the front, supporting a
forward-projecting torso with enlarged conical breasts framed by sloping oversized shoulders and slender forearms, holding an attenuated infant
with upturned head and classical features in her hands, held above the mother's lap by three cylindrical bridges emerging from her legs,
surmounted by a ringed arched neck and classically carved oval head, with squared chin, lobed mouth revealing filed teeth, pronounced triangular
nose and cowrie-shell inset eyes beneath arched brows, serrated browline and tall upswept coiffure, oblong scarification across her upper chest
and back, arched and notched scarification also on the upper back; fine smooth reddish-brown turning to black patina. Height 15'/4 in. (38.7 cm.)
Provenance:
Gaston de Havenon, New York
Marc and Denyse Ginsberg, New York
Literature:
Gillon, 1979, fig. 123
Lehuard, 1989," vol. II, p. 571, illus.
Exhibited:
Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Mother and Child in African Sculpture, December 5, 1985-July 6, 1986
Thompson and Cornet, 1981, pp. 166—7, discuss the relevance of the sitter's position both in terms of its Kon-goese significance as well as its
ramifications in other cultures outside of Africa as follows: "Let us begin with the cross-legged seated position (funda nkata), radiantly exemplified
by a mother and child in wood in the collection of Count Baudoin de Grunne [referring to a related example, fig. 141]. Provisionally, it would appear
that this courtly gesture lacked the staying power of attitudes more widely disseminated through Kongo culture. Nevertheless, funda nkaka appears
early in the nineteenth century in Kongo Square, New Orleans: 'the performer, sitting cross-legged, held the [mibira] in both hands and plucked the
end of the reeds with his thumbnails.' This scene recalls a common theme of Kongo sculpture. Elsewhere in the Americas, a scholar of black life in
Trinidad, Jacob Elder, remembers that on that island, in this century, 'there was an old Kongo man, who shaved his head and sat cross-legged.' He
sat in this manner, so it was recalled, 'thinking of his ancestors.'"
estimated $50,000-70,000

This figure was not sold and ended up being donated by the Kuhn's to the National Museum of African Art (see below)
Kongo peoples
Mayombe region, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Late 19th-early 20th century
Wood, cowrie shells, pigment
H x W x D: 38.8 x 14.5 x 13.9 cm (15 1/4 x 5 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift of Jeffrey and Candace Kuhn
National Museum of African Art

The image of a mother and child is an icon of Kongo art. It is not a simple genre theme, but a statement of the spiritual power supporting society, the
need for fertility and the promise of future generations. These types of figures possibly are connected with Mpemba, a women's cult said to have been
founded by a famous midwife and concerned with fertility and the treatment of infertility. Mpemba seems to have grown at the same time the slave trade
intensified, from 1770 to 1850; an increased concern for children seems a logical development. The figures may also have ties to the Lemba cult, which
arose during the slave trade period and whose members were the wealthy mercantile elite. Lemba was concerned with healing, trade and marriage
relations, and it redistributed potentially disruptive wealth among kin and shrines. Inside a special box, members kept significant cult objects including a
sack of red pigment, symbolizing the female element, called pfemba lemba. Red pigment was rubbed on the figures, as is suggested by the deep reddish
tone of this example. The mother figure is seated, legs crossed, atop a small base. This pose conveys the prestige of high political and social status, as
do a number of other details. The hairstyle is a traditional perquisite of high status. One of the most striking aspects of this figure is the use of cowrie
shells for eyes, rather than inset glass or mirror. Their use is less common in collected examples but is not atypical of the region and may represent an
older tradition. Cowrie shells are usually references to wealth since they functioned as currency. This would be in keeping with the figure's chiefly
associations. However, among the Kongo peoples, cowries also have a connection to spiritual powers. Cowrie shells, like mirrors and glass, have a
shining, reflective or white surface. Their reflective quality allows those with special powers--chiefs, diviners and healers--to "see" into the spirit realm.
That is why cowries were used as eyes on figures or to seal medicine containers. Other attributes of this figure are associated with beauty, perfection
and high rank. The chest cord serves to emphasize the breasts. Scarification was viewed as erotic and beautiful; it marked physical maturity and
assured conception. The chiseled teeth also were considered beautiful. The child depicted looks more like a small adult than an infant. Because the
child is unexpressive and supine, it has been described as dead. Since many of the infants in this type of figure either nurse at or touch their
mothers'breasts, this is either a different subject or death takes an unusual definition. On a similar figure, the child holds his penis erect while touching
the mother's breast. The gesture could be a reference to fertility, metaphorically referring to the seeds of creation or to the belief that those who die will
be reborn. So death, or the spirit world, may not be estranged from life in Kongo beliefs.
Sotheby's May 1994
Property sold for the Benefit of The Mazes S. Schupf Foundation, Inc.
Lot 155
A Yombe Maternity Figure, seated cross-legged and holding a child on her lap, with carved bracelets encircling her
wrists, a carved thong around the upper torso and a half skirt around her buttocks, her neck encircled by a carved
necklace, her upturned head with mirrors inset for eyes beneath an upswept blackened headpiece, scarification in a
diamond motif on the upper torso; fine honey brown patina.
Height 121/4 in. (31.1cm.)
Provenance:
J.J. Klejman, New York
Several iconographical elements of this figure—the coiffure, the treatment of the face, and the scarification on the
upper torso— suggest that she belongs in the group of Yombe maternities that Lehuard (1989: 571-578) has
designated sub-style K5.
estimate $6,000-9,000 (sold for $4888)
From the Pierre Dartevelle Gallery - Brussels, Belgium
As seen in the Bruneaf 2005 catalog
Yombe maternity, 29cm, collected 1910
Ex collection Mylonas
From the book: South of the Sahara
MOTHER-AND-CHILD FIGURE; YOMBE PEOPLE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC  OF THE CONGO
LATE   I9TH  TO  EARLY  2OTH  CENTURY; WOOD; HEIGHT  64.7  CM
LEONARD C. HANNA JR. FUND  1997.149 - Cleveland Art Museum

The Yombe are one of the many Kikongo-speaking peoples that at one point in their history were part of, or strongly influenced by, the
former kingdom of Kongo. This kingdom on the Atlantic Coast near the mouth of the Kongo River flourished from at least 1400 through
the late 1600s. Its hilltop capital Mbanza Kongo, present-day Sao Salvador in Angola, was first visited by Portuguese explorers in the mid
fifteenth century. Luxury goods and refined art works enhanced the divine character of the Kongo king. After the introduction of
Christianity and the baptism of King Nzinga a Nkuwa on 3 May 1491, Kongo artists were influenced by the iconography of the new faith.
The mother-and-child theme and the naturalism in Yombe art may also reflect the influence of European models and tastes.

This mother-and-child figure probably comes from the region around the village of Kasadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is
stylistically related to three face masks and six maternity figures of smaller size. The mother-and-child figures have been attributed to a
single artist whom scholars have named the "Kasadi Master." Marc Felix, however, has recently identified the Cleveland figure as the work
of an unknown artist of the Sundi, another Kikongo-speaking people about which little is known. While small Yombe mother-and-child
figures were mainly used in a women's cult concerned with the treatment of infertility, the size and soft wood of the Cleveland figure—
which was originally brightly colored—indicate its funerary function. Since it does not show the weathering that prolonged exposure on a
tomb would have caused, the figure was most likely placed in a roofed ancestral shrine. The cross-legged seated pose atop a square
base and the various body adornments, including the cord tied above the breasts and the patterned cap with tab-like projection, convey
high social status, and may reveal that the woman represented incarnates the founding ancestor of a descent group.
From the book: South of the Sahara
MOTHER-AND-CHILD FIGURE  (pfemba); POSSIBLY YOMBE PEOPIE, DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
MID  TO  LATE   19TH   CENTURY; WOOD; HEIGHT  26  CM
ANDREW  R. AND  MARTHA  HOLDEN  JENNINGS  FUND  2003.35 - Cleveland Art Museum

Thanks to their refined naturalism and recognizable theme, mother-and-child figures of the Yombe and related peoples of the Lower
Congo region are among the most beloved types of African art in the West. This figure is most probably an example of a type of
sculpture called pfemba that is related to a women's cult concerned with enhancing fertility and the treatment of infertility. Oral tradition
holds that the pfemba cult was established by a famous midwife. The very different styles of the two sculptures illustrate regional and
even personal variations on the same theme.

The figure depicted here also held a high rank in society, as testified by her cross-legged pose on a pedestal and her many body
adornments. The chiseled teeth, the firm breasts, the miter-shaped hairstyle, which imitates a once-popular coiffure among both men
and women, and especially the raised scarification marks indicate ideals of beauty and perfection. Meant to stimulate sexual pleasure,
the scars were considered both beautiful and erotic. The double bracelets around her upper arms imitate protective charms called
nsunga; made of plaited or braided raffia fibers, they are worn by religious experts and by ill people as a cure.

During their ritual use, the surfaces of figures such as this one were rubbed with a reddish mixture of oil and camwood powder, both a
cosmetic and a sign of mediation. It is no coincidence that inYombe thought the color red indicates transitional conditions such as death
and birth. The fact that some mother-and-child figures hold or carry what appears to be a dead baby alludes to the close
interrelationship in Kongo beliefs between the spirit world and the world of the living. It has been suggested that the figures were
thoroughly cleaned and polished after their use by their original caretakers. The resinous material on many examples in Western
collections seems to have been applied not by the people who made and used them but by their first Western owners.
From the book: The Tribal Arts of Africa
Yombe maternity figure
wood; height; 36 cm (11 1/4 in)
This superb example of Kongo sculpture shows the emphasis given to the head with its filed teeth and to the characteristic back
scarifications. This female figure embodied a gentler spiritual force than the threatening male figures and was used for fertility rituals.
Sotheby's - New York
Arts of Africa, Oceania & The Americas
Auction Date : May 17, 2002

Lot 122 :  A YOMBE SEATED FEMALE FIGURE

Description
seated on a square plinth, the barrel-like torso with broad
shoulders and back elaborately decorated with cicatrices, the
thin arms with one hand on the hips the other holding her
breast, the expressive face with inset glass eyes and wearing
an incised flat cap-like coiffure; fine honey brown patina with
areas of red resin.


Estimate:$ 10,000 - $ 15,000
Price Realized:$ 0    

Provenance
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels
Sotheby's - Paris
Paolo Morigi collection : Important African Art
Auction Date : Jun 6, 2005

Lot 175 :  f - MATERNITÉ, KONGO/YOMBÉ,
RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO [A
KONGO/YOMBE MATERNITY FIGURE,

PROVENANCE

Ancienne collection Stocklet (années 1930)
Ancienne collection de Madame Morley, Bruxelles

Dimensions
haut. 23 cm

9 in


Estimate:€ 35,000 - € 40,000
Price Realized:  € 0
Sotheby's - Paris
Paolo Morigi collection : Important African Art
Auction Date : Jun 6, 2005

Lot 168 :  f - MATERNITÉ, KONGO/YOMBÉ, RÉGION DU BAS-CONGO, RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

PROVENANCE

Ancienne collection G.K. Keller (inv. G.F.K. 357), acquise vers 1978
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

Jacob, 1978 : 42
CATALOGUE NOTE

A Kongo/Yombe maternity figure, Lower Congo area, Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the corpus of pfemba maternity figures, it is rare that the child is not carved in a lying position. The position of a supine child, lead scholars to
hypothesize that the babies represented were dead. Pfemba's shown with a child breastfeeding or on bent knees are a sign of vitality, suggesting
links with a fertility cult (MacGaffey in Tervuren, 1995: 290). The offer lot is exceptional in the context of known pfemba as the child is carved fully
frontal, solidly settled in his mother's lap, and very much alive.

A number of rare examples are known showing the child standing along side of the mother (Lehuard, 1989:558), or seated (ibid.:580), or the
mother feeding her child (ibid.:471), The Völkerkunde Museum, Zurich (ibid.: 477), or another, formerly in the collection of Hubert Goldet (ibid.:
486), another from The Museum of Ethnography in Saint Gallen (ibid: 515), collected in the 1924 from a private collection. This last pfemba is
exceptional for the vitality in the attitude of the child, carved facing forwards, firmly resting on the knees of his mother.

Plastically, the maternity from the Morigi collection is unusual for the impression of dignity suggested by the pose and the elongated torso, as well
as the beautiful serenity of the face associated with sadness, but realistic in its details.

Cf. Kerchache, Paudrat and Stephan (1988:345, n 236), Willett (1971, 245, n 241) and Lehuard (1989: 574, n K 5-1-7) for a maternity stylistically
comparable from the Arman collection, identified by Lehuard as from the sub style K5 in his classification of Yombe statuary (ibid.:571-578).

Dimensions
haut. 31 cm

12 1/3 in


Estimate:€ 45,000 - € 60,000
Price Realized:
$ 46,265    
€ 38,400  
Sotheby's - New York
African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art
Auction Date : May 12, 2005

Lot 86 :  PROPERTY FROM A NEW YORK PRIVATE COLLECTION A FINE YOMBE MATERNITY FIGURE

Description
phemba, seated on a square base, the powerful crossed legs supporting the languid baby cradled at the head and feet, the torso, with
scarification in high relief at the chest and back, leaning slightly to the right, with broad rounded shoulders and neck, the head, strongly pitched
forward, with downturned mouth baring teeth, straight nose and crescent eyes of inset glass framed by ears finely carved in a scroll motif beneath
the tall lanceolate coiffure; aged honey brown patina with areas of pokerwork.

PROVENANCE

J. J. Klejman, New York
CATALOGUE NOTE

The offered figure compares most closely to another in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art (see Lehuard 1989: 581, figure K 6-1-4). In
addition to the faceted, tall base, the figures share the idiosyncratic qualities of an exceptionally broad neck gently sloping outward to the jawline
and abstract scrolling ears.

Lehuard places the Brooklyn figure in sub-cateogory six, characterized by particularly amplified expressionistic qualities including--the pitch of the
head, the shape of the mouth and rendering of the teeth, the aquiline nose and strong jawline.

Yombe maternity figures were used in association with women's fertility cults. Originally they were covered with camwood powder, or tukula. Red
powder was used as red is the color symbolic of life's transitions, such as birth and death. The posture itself, a seated figure holding a child
across the crossed legs has broad symbolic signficance as it traveled well beyond the Kongo, even to America. The funda nkata appeared in
Kongo Square, New Orleans in the early 19th century, according to Thompson and Cornet (1981:166-167). The gesture also implies 'thinking of
the ancestors'.

Dimensions
height 15 1/8 in. 39cm


Estimate:
$ 25,000 - $ 35,000
Sotheby's - New York
Arts of Africa, Oceania & The Americas
Auction Date : May 17, 2002


Lot 121 :  A YOMBE KNEELING FIGURE

Description
kneeling on a square base, and wearing a loin cloth, the resin power bundle with a mirror at the center, the face with typical
features and eyes inset with glass and wearing a conical coiffure inset with studs; honey brown patina.


Estimate:$ 12,000 - $ 18,000
Price Realized: $ 0  
Sotheby's - New York
Arts of Africa, Oceania & The Americas
Auction Date : May 17, 2002

Lot 139 :  A SUPERB YOMBE MATERNITY FIGURE

Description
phemba, seated on a square base with incised quatrefoil designs, her bent arms holding a baby resting on
her lap, and the torso arching forward with conical breasts, framed by a ridge and scarification at the chest,
the neck encircled by a copper band, beneath a distinct full oval face with pointed chin, heart-shaped
mouth with a ridge at the center and baring filed teeth, the naturalistic nose framed by wide,
almond-shaped eyes, scarification on the cheeks and raised brows and wearing metal earring and a
transverse conical coiffure; fine slightly glossy honey brown patina.


Estimate:$ 45,000 - $ 55,000  
Price Realized:$ 0    


Provenance
Hubert Van Roy, Ghent Walter Van Becelaere, Antwerp
Yombe Maternity Figure
Democratic Republic of Congo
Carved wood with glass inlays
Early 20th century
Height: 10¾ in.
Provenance: Collection of Frère Cornet, founder and
former curator of the Kinshasa Museum

Galerie Flak, Paris
Two different Pfemba maternity statues. Kongo (Yombe). Lower Zaïre region.
Wood, mirror.
Africa-Museum, Tervuren
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Artist:    Yombe    
Title:    Maternity Figure    
Date:    20th century    
Medium:    Wood, vegetable fiber, canine teeth and pigments    
Dimensions:    21 1/8 in. (53.7 cm)    
Credit Line:    The John R. Van Derlip Fund
From Galerie Walu

"Yombe pair of figures, Congo, Pair of shrine figures, published by K.F. Schaedler (1989)"
height 20 inches
http://www.walu.ch/w2.htm
Sotheby's - May 1999 - Property from a West Coast Collector
Lot 295
A superb Kongo maternity figure
in the form of a female figure seated crosslegged on a faceted base incised with a geometric pattern encircling the rim, and cradling a child suckling
her breast, the thick neck supporting the delicately carved head with full naturalistic lips, broad flattened nose and heavy lidded eyes, back-set ears,
and wearing a high peaked coiffure, carved bracelets, necklace and waist band, raised scarifications on the back, a brass tack on the lower part of the
right arm; fine, honey brown patina. height 11 3/8 in. (28.9cm.)

Published:
Lehuard, Art Bakongo, 1989: 580, figure K-6-1-2

Exhibited:
Los Angeles, California, Mother and Child in African Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 12, 1985-June 7, 1986. New York, Mother and Child
in African Sculpture, The African-American Institute, October 21, 1986-February 28,1987.
Estimate $25,000-35,000
SOLD for $51,750 USD