Tchokwe Axe; Democratic Republic of Congo,

Tchokwe axe; Democratic Republic of Congo,
Iron and wood.
Provenance: Former Belgian collection.

The Tchokwe or Chokwe are an ethnic group of Central Africa, located between Angola, the Congo and Zambia, whose origin lies in one of the twelve clans that formed the Lunda Empire between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the 1890s, with the help of firearms acquired from the Ovibundu, who had obtained them from European settlers, they attacked the Lunda and disintegrated their empire. Within the Chowke sculptural production there are two types of artists: the "songi" and the "fuli". The latter are responsible for court sculpture, while the "songi" make popular and communal sculptures. Their masks are characterized by being carved in solid wood and present the same stylistic elements, regardless of their function or theme. These are pieces representing human heads with slit-shaped eyes, sharp noses and thick lips, showing sacred scarifications on forehead and cheeks.