Fragment Of A Scepter Or Cane, Songye People, Drc

Wooden part of a scepter or ceremonial cane featuring a male figure built around a central cylinder. The legs are bent with feet framing a filled-in round cavity that must contain a magical charge. The arms are bent with hands positioned around a prominent navel. Below this, we can see that the sculptor has depicted a man's penis. Above the shoulders, the cylinder continues, forming the neck on which a face representing a "Kifwebe" mask is positioned. Then, the cylinder continues to end with an evasive, hollow shape where another structure, probably metallic, must have been fitted.
The overall shape built around this cylinder is very balanced, geometric, and almost cubist.
Wood with a brown patina of use, cracks, and some scratches.
Height: 34.5 cm
Songye people, DRC F
irst half of the 20th century
Provenance: ex Norbert Boutet collection