Zande anthropomorphic jar, Azande, DRC Vase featuring... Lot 27

Zande anthropomorphic jar, Azande, DRC Vase featuring a human head with large pierced ears. A double frieze of geometric motifs is printed on the sides. 37 x 20 cm Formerly known as "Niam-Niam" because they were considered anthropophagous, the tribes known as Zande and Azandé settled from Chad on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Sudan and the Central African Republic. According to their beliefs, man is endowed with two souls, one of which transforms on death into the animal-totem of the clan to which he belongs. The African tribal art of the Zande, or "those who own much land", apart from their court art composed of spoons, receptacles, pipes and harps, includes two types of statues: Kudu statues, between 30 and 50 cm high, represent ancestors. There are also Yanda statues, 10 to 20 cm high, in animal or human form, with an apotropaic role, which were exhibited during divinatory rites by the Mani-Yanda society. The leaders of this association would group together a dozen statues on an altar in a hut in the forest (L'Art africain,Kerchache).