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Arts & Communication African art: Former passions, current concerns

It is noteworthy that “provenance” has different
meanings in the public and the private sectors and the
resultant documentation reflects this. From a scholarly
perspective, it is a reference to the place where the object
came from, that is, where it was collected; but, that does
not necessarily designate the location where it was made
or used. In the private sector, provenance indicates
where the object has resided in its western circuit of
acquisitions. The latter, more recent biographical profile,
8
of African artifacts that have become “art” pieces through
alienation from their original source communities and
9
commodification in the northern hemisphere, has led
to a proliferation of ownership listings. In comparison,
existing data on earlier histories of collecting in Africa by
military and administrative colonial agents, missionaries,
10
etc., is patchy and now difficult to reconstruct. Objects Figure 2. Songye - style power figure, Nairobi Handcraft Industrial
acquired as war booty, trophies, and souvenirs or “curios” Co-operative Society, Ltd., Gikombo area, Nairobi; photo and copyright
Elsbeth Court, 2014.
were not documented according to today’s standards and
neither was the process of acquisition or the collector’s it is clearly a Songye-style piece, and indeed the work of
identity. Where the artifacts came from, who used them, a Congolese carver (though not necessarily one from
when and how, was of little relevance. Such data were the Songye region), it was made in Kenya at the Nairobi
simply not considered or prioritized at the time. To add Handcraft Industrial Co-operative Society.
to the complexity of the problem, objects traveled far
afield with carvers, original owner, indigenous merchants With the proliferation of selling site and copies of
th
11
and foreigners. For example, within the cultural region carvings in the second half of the 20 century, Songye
of the Songye/Luba peoples in Democratic Republic of sculpture achieved high ratings. Such was its popularity
the Congo (DRC), which is familiar to me, trade goods that Songye commercial carvings of Indonesian facture
circulated as did emblems of status and prestige. A large from Bali, among others, found their way to markets and
quantity of elaborate axes made by Songye blacksmiths, boutiques in Brussels and elsewhere. The Songye region
from a combination of valued metals, made their way was reputed for its powerful diviners/healers (nganga),
through the region. Similarly, Luba prestige emblems carvers and multiple transient cults of ever more powerful
such as staffs of office or stools were implanted among magical effect. During my fieldwork in the late 1970s,
the Songye by accepting chiefs and became conspicuous people impressed on me that Mobutu Sese Seko, the then
political markers of territory. 12 President, was convinced of Songye mystical power and
that he frequented the region for unspecified reasons,
Another interesting case of cultural displacement or (though these were apparently significant enough for him
borrowing of objects in DRC is the possession of four large to have offered the well-known Chief Kitumbika Ngoy, in
scale Songye power figures (mankishi) by King Kot aPe in the village of Lubao, a tractor). Whether fact, fiction, or
Nsheng, in the central kingdom of the Kuba cultural region. effective oral lore, Songye notoriety spread widely and I
These significant figures seem to have contained magical should not have been surprised to see a Songye-style nkishi
power directly associated with the monarch but they stand inspiration in a Vodun temple in New Orleans where it
in clear visual contrast to their own emblematic ndop king served as a site for offerings (Figure 3).
figures. The so-called charms were commissioned from a Despite the complexity of these issues, provenance
13
Songye carver in 1902 and were a conspicuous presence in research will certainly continue to develop hand-in-hand
the Bushong capital for years. 14
with restitution and repatriation requests and offers.
These examples inevitably lead to the related question However, more broadly, who will determine which material
of attribution because the place of collection may not is important and valued, to whom, and in which contexts?
correspond to the site of fabrication or use. Who were Who will decide what constitutes patrimony among
the makers of some of the traveling objects noted above? the local, national, trans-national, and western players?
Stylistic factors alone, appended to ethnic labels, are not Who is listening to the different African stakeholders to
necessarily reliable indicators and can be very deceptive. define what they wish to preserve, sell or destroy? We
The large sculpture in Figure 2 is a case in point. While speak of source communities who, in principle, should be

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.4894