STATUE OKIKA known as "hanged man Democratic... Lot 35

STATUE OKIKA known as "hanged man Democratic Republic of Congo - MBOLE Height = 40 cm Wood, beautiful patina of age, kaolin The famous stylized and polychrome sculptures (Ofika) represent those hanged for having transgressed the laws of the Lilwa and public order; they may also represent sacrificial victims. They also refer to a custom prior to the burial of higher-ranking Lilwa initiates, whose bodies were hung from a beam in their house in order to collect their fluids, which were then used during the ritual sprinkling of the successor.