Kusu Fetish
 
Country: DR Congo.
Culture: Kusu.
Date: end 19th or early 20th century.
Medium: wood, old patina of use, metal nails, animal skin, vegetal fibers, composite material (bilongo).
Size: h. 18 cm (7½ in.); h. incl. base 23,5 cm (9¼ in.).
Reference: KUSIV11/1.
Provenance: Philippe Laeremans, Brussels.
Extra: Very rare Kusu fetish with clear traces of ritual use and an intact magical charge (bilongo), protected by animal skin with metal nails driven through it, on the top of the head.The figure is rather cubist with the abstract hands, the stocky limbs and the magnificent greasy and thick patina of use. This statue is obviously very old, probably from the beginning of the last century or even before.
The Kusu are a small ethnic group (max. 100.000 people), living in eastern central Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the banks of the rivers Lomami and Lualaba and possessed a caste system similar to that of the Luba. Their art is strongly influenced by the Luba but also by the Hemba and the Songye.
 
Photo credit: © Jean Godecharle.