Cisakulo comb with 12 teeth. Lwena or Tshokwe.
Angola. Wood.
© Africa-Museum, Tervuren
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The Tshokwe are a matrilinear Bantu
people who originally inhabited Serra de Muzamba (north Angola), where they
formed powerful chiefdoms. Around 1860, probably as a result of
socio-economic problems, the Tshokwe started to move to the north and the
north-east, migrating into Angola and Zaïre, as far as Kwilu, Kasai and
Shaba.
During this period, the ancient court art became more robust and static,
losing some of its richness. Sculptors continued to produce masks and
refined objects chairs (often fashioned after European models), combs,
tobacco boxes, sceptres, pipes and walking-sticks produced at the time are
lifelike and show a keen eye for detail, although mythical ancestors were no
longer depicted in Tshokwe art. These distinctions allow us to distinguish
between Tshokwe art originating in Angola and that produced after the
Tshokwe migrated northwards.
However, not all sculpture constituted court art or items of prestige:
objects were produced for use in rituals, invoking protective or destructive
spirits who could ensure success in hunting, protect against evil or
sickness, or restore a woman's fertility.
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