This commanding woman kneels on a circular disk while balancing another atop her head and strong arms. Further ornamented with precious ivory and beaded jewelry, such a powerful depiction of womanhood underscored a Songye chief’s ancestral right to rule. For the neighboring Luba, continuity of the royal line depended on women carrying new generations into the world. Royal seats honored women as the source of life, and they legitimized the chief’s authority by presenting idealized portraits of his female ancestors. Songye leaders adapted these thrones for their own use, portraying both male and female figurative supports. That customization reflects the equal weight Songye have placed on the importance of maternal and paternal lineages.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Royal seat
Artist:Songye artist
Date:19th–early 20th century
Geography:Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lomami River region
Culture:Songye peoples
Medium:Wood, copper alloy, ivory, beads
Dimensions:H. 19 13/16 x W. 13 3/8 x D. 13 1/8 in. (50.4 x 34 x 33.3 cm)
Classification:Wood-Furniture
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1969
Object Number:1978.412.593
Jeanne Walschot, Paris, Antwerp, and Brussels, by 1950; Clark and Frances Stillman, New York, by 1969; The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1969–78
Museum of Primitive Art. "The Clark and Frances Stillman Collection of Congolese Sculpture," November 24, 1965–February 6, 1966.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
Seattle Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–February 16, 1975.
American Federation of Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–May 15, 1977.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 23, 1975–May 4, 1975.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 8, 1975–July 20, 1975.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," August 25, 1975–October 10, 1975.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," November 9, 1975–December 21, 1975.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," April 11, 1976–May 25, 1976.
Walker Art Center. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 27, 1976–August 8, 1976.
Denver Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," September 10, 1976–November 7, 1976.
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 12, 1977–May 15, 1977.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Buli Master: An African Artist of the 19th Century," February 14–July 13, 1980.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, no. 435.
American Federation of Arts. Primitive Art Masterworks: an exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Primitive Art and the American Federation of Arts, New York. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1974, no. 93.
Ross, Doran H. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1992.
Hersak, Dunja. Songye Masks and Figure Sculpture. London: Ethnographica, 1995.
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The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.
