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Ceremonial Drum with Male Figure Holding Figurative Superstructure Seated on Elephant

Kongo peoples

Not on view

Such elaborately carved drums were integrated in the shrine of the Maloango (King of Loango) as an altar in his residence. On festive occasions they were displayed and used as a visual point of reference for oral traditions related by a priest. The tripartite composition features a figure seated on an elephant at the base supporting an open box-like structure and culminates in a drum at the summit. Esteemed for their size and strength, elephants also figure in regional oral histories as guides that led pioneering founding ancestors through the forest.

Ceremonial Drum with Male Figure Holding Figurative Superstructure Seated on Elephant, Wood, pigment, hide, Kongo peoples

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