Skip to main content
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Male Figure
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Male Figure

Artist/Maker (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Artist/Maker (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Datenot dated
Mediumwood and stain
DimensionsOverall: 18 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 6 5/8 in. (47 x 16.5 x 16.8 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of Alan Potamkin
Terms
    Object number2007.48.111
    DescriptionMost Luba figures are female because women are stronger spiritually and better able to safely contain in their bodies even the spirits of powerful male ancestors. Women are considered to be superior in matters of the spirit and, at least in the past, were more likely to be diviners than were men. In matters of real life, however, it is men who are chiefs and warriors or hunters. In peripheral Luba areas, male ancestors are revered in their actual male form. This figure appears to be in the style of the Hemba, a people to the east of the Luba core area who , although matrilineal unlike the Luba proper, emphasize male ancestor figures in their sculpture. Their figures are not portraits of specific ancestors but are generic figures with idealized male attributes. The spear is a sign of a hunter or a chief. Luba related people east of the core area sometimes depict the Luba culture hero, Mbidi Kiluwe as a hunting spirit.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Luba people
    early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Chokwe people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Giriama people
    late 19th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Giriama people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Giriama people
    late 19th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Dogon people
    19th century or earlier
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    late 19th to early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Wosera people
    late 19th to early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Bamileke people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Nigeria, Igbo people
    early 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Nigeria, Igbo people
    mid 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    late 19th to early 20th century