Whistle "nsiba" or charm with janus figure
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 282
95th Tribal Art AuctionWhistle "nsiba" or charm with janus figure
D. R. Congo, Manyanga
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium | H: 4.9 inch/ 8.3 inch (with horn) | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, antelope horn,
Antelope-horn whistles with carved wooden finials, were probably used in medicinal and hunting contexts.
Söderberg notes in 1966, that antelope-horn whistles from the lower Zaire region were often associated with traditional healers who wore them as symbols of their strength and medicinal powers.
He states, that the sculptures adorning these whistles, are credited with spiritual power allowing the "nganga" to extract bullets by sucking from a wound inflicted during war or in the course of hunting".
Brincard, Marie-Therese, Sounding forms, New York 1989, p. 165, ill.128 ff.