Statue Nkonde, Kongo-Vili, République Démocratique du Congo

Collection Herbert et Nancy Baker, Chicago
Loudmer, Paris, 28 juin 1990, "Collection Herbert et Nancy Baker", n° 38
Collection Arman Arman, Paris
Collection privée

Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Primitive Art from Chicago Collections, 16 novembre-30 décembre 1960
Lake Forrest, Lake Forrest College, African Art - The Herbert Baker Collection, 12-22 avril 1962
Rockford, Rockford College, African Art, 1965
Bloomington, Indiana University, African Studies Conference, 1966
Berkeley, University of California, Robert H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology, African Arts, 1967
Kansas City, Nelson Gallery - Atkins Museum, Ethnic art from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker. Africa-Mediterranean-Oceania, 17 décembre 1966-29 janvier 1967
New York, The Museum of primitive Art, The Herbert Baker Collection, 1969
San Francisco, M.H. de Young Museum, The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Kongo Power figures, 1989, n° 3, Viewpoints X
Chicago, John Hancock Center, African Art and the Impressionists, 1971
Arles, Musée d'Arles, Salles romanes du Cloître, L'art d'Afrique noire dans les collections d'artistes, 8 février-12 mai 1991

Wardwell, Primitive Art from Chicago Collections, 1960, n.p., n° 181 (non reproduit)
Wardwell, African Art - The Herbert Baker Collection, 1962, p. 15, n° 18
Coe, Ethnic art from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker. Africa-Mediterranean-Oceania, 1966, p. 31, n° 97, fig. E
Newton, The Herbert Baker Collection, 1969, p. 9, n° 72
N'Diaye, L'art d'Afrique noire dans les collections d'artistes, 1991, p. 73, n° 59

Please contact the department for condition report.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Au sens le plus absolu, la collection d'Herbert Baker consiste en un choix personnel d'objets d'une grande individualité" Douglas Newton (The Herbert Baker Collection 1969, Introduction). 

Si Herbert Baker avait fait de l’éclectisme des choix le moteur de sa collection, cette dernière avait pour piliers plusieurs œuvres majeures, célébrées tant pour leur classicisme que pour leurs remarquables qualités sculpturales. Tout comme la magistrale cuiller Dan illustrée en couverture du catalogue de la vente Baker (Guy Loudmer, Paris, le 28 juin 1990), cette statue nkondi participa à toutes les expositions qui, de 1960 à 1971, contribuèrent aux Etats-Unis à la renommée de sa collection.

A la puissance protectrice de ce nkondi (pose telema lwinbanganga adoptée par la noblesse Kongo et les devins en signe d'autorité absolue, yeux sertis de verre censés augmenter la clairvoyance, lames et clous rappelant les actions qui ont scellé l’histoire de la communauté, et traces de polychromie aux vertus thérapeutiques) répond la virtuosité du geste sculptural. La force du visage caréné met en valeur la sensibilité des traits, traduisant superbement l'idéal de beauté Kongo : bouche charnue très finement modelée, nez légèrement aquilin, sourcils hachurés, oreilles au pavillon détaillé. Stylistiquement, cette statue se rattache au corpus de la statuaire Vili identifié par Raoul Lehuard comme « sous-style Vili D8 » (Art Bakongo, Les centres de style, 1898, vol. 1, p. 255-262) provenant de la région bordant la rivière Chiloango, à la frontière de la République Démocratique du Congo et de l'Angola. 

"In its widest sense, the Herbert Baker collection consists of an individual choice of objects with personality." Douglas Newton (The Herbert Baker Collection 1969, Foreword) 

Although Herbert Baker had made the eclecticism of his choices the driving force of his collection, its pillars were nonetheless several major pieces celebrated both for their classicism and for their remarkable sculptural qualities. Like the beautiful Dan spoon shown on the cover of the Baker auction catalogue (Guy Loudmer, Paris, 28 June 1990), this Nkonde statue was a part of all the exhibitions which, from 1960 to 1971, contributed to the fame of his collection throughout the United States. 

The protective power of this nkonde (telema lwinbanganga pose - adopted by the Kongo nobility and diviners as a sign of absolute authority, the eyes inlaid with glass as a means to increase clairvoyance; blades and nails recalling the actions that have marked the history of the community; and traces of polychromy with therapeutic virtues) is compounded in the virtuosity of the sculptural technique. The forcefulness of the crested face enhances the sensitivity of its features, beautifully reflecting the aesthetic ideal of the Kongo: the finely-shaped full lips, the slightly aquiline nose, the hatched eyebrows, and the ears with their intricately-carved auricle.  Stylistically, this figure is related to Vili statuary, identified by Raoul Lehuard as a "Vili D8 sub-style" (Art Bakongo, Les centres de style, 1898, vol. 1, p. 255-262) from the banks of the Chiloango river, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.