Een houten beeldhouwwerk – Zande – DR Congo (Zonder minimumprijs)

A Zande scepter collected in the Bondo region of DR Congo, with two heads crested on top of a bigger head as an apex. Glossy patina, signs of ritual use and age.Zande scepters occupy a subtle yet authoritative place within the artistic and political vocabulary of the Zande peoples of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Although less monumental than royal drums or courtly throwing knives, these scepters functioned as potent insignia of leadership and adjudication. Their forms, typically carved in dense hardwoods, draw upon a long-standing Zande concern with calibrated proportion, refined line, and the controlled integration of figural and geometric motifs. While individual examples vary, many scepters incorporate a stylized human or anthropo–zoomorphic head, its features rendered with a minimalist precision that signals ancestral gravitas rather than portraiture.The scepter’s authority derives not only from its material form but also from the sociopolitical context in which it operated. Historically, Zande polities developed under the rule of nobles and princes whose power was both military and ritual. The scepter served as a marker of such status, functioning in settings of arbitration, oath taking, and the enactment of chiefly prerogatives. Its presence helped materialize the... lees verder bij Catawiki