Teke Lari Figure

Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo

Teke Lari Figure

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Male Figure
Teke-Lari

Early 20th century
Carved wood, composite, resin, fibers
Height: 39 cm – 15 ¼ in.

Provenance
Collected by Robert Lehuard, village of Mpiaka in 1927
Collection Robert Lehuard
Collection Raoul Lehuard, by descent
Galerie Ratton-Hourdé, 1999
Collection Bernard Fraissine, Rodez
Collection Alain Lecomte, Paris, France, 2014
Collection Tao Kerefoff, Paris, 2023

Publication
« Statuaire du Stanley-Pool », Raoul Lehuard, Arts d’Afrique Noire, 1974, p. 144, #80
« Art Bakongo-Les Centres de Style », Vol.II, Raoul Lehuard, Arts d’Afrique Noire, 1989, p. 315, #E3-1
« Art & Kongos. Les Peuples Kongophones et leur sculpture Biteki Bia Bakongo. Vol.I: Les Kongo du Nord », Marc Leo Felix et al., Zaïre Basin Art History Research Center, Brussels, 1995, p. 206, #3
« Teke », Raoul Lehuard, Galerie Ratton-Hourde, 1999, p. 42
« Batéké, les fétiches », Alain Lecomte & Raoul Lehuard, Paris, 2014, p. 255

This large ritual figure, in the rare Lari style related to the Teke, was collected as early as 1927 by Robert Lehuard in the Congo. It has been illustrated in numerous major publications on ancient Congo art for over 50 years.

In Teke society, certain statuettes play a central role in the protection and cohesion of lineages. Far from being mere carved objects, they function as spiritual supports that establish a connection between the founding ancestors of a group and their descendants. Through these figures, the community addresses the world of the ancestors by means of prayers and rituals intended to maintain collective balance.
In his landmark study on Teke art (1996), Raoul Lehuard explains how, through a specific ritual, carved figures become the receptacle of the deceased’s spirit and the focal point of their protective presence within the community..