Yombe Figure, DRC
Wood, pigments
H. 58cm
Provenance:
Emil Maetzel, Hamburg, acquired before 1910
Christies, Art Africain et Océanien, Paris, 1. Dezember 2010, lot 82
Documentation:
Emil Maetzel, Photo of the Collection, 1910, Hamburg
Price:
On Request
This Kongo fetish, created in the second half of the 19th century by a Yombe artist, was part of the collection of Emil Maetzel (1877–1955), a German architect, painter and photographer who was part of an avant-garde art group in Hamburg at the beginning of the 20th century.
Maetzel started collecting African art at a young age and depicted some of it in his paintings and photographs. One of these photographs, taken in 1910, shows part of his collection, including this work. A similar sculpture, particularly for its sculptural treatment of the head, can be found in Carl Einstein‘s pioneering publication from 1915 (n° 13).