Figure
20th century
Three beads adorn this tiny standing sculpture known by the name of mbulenga, meaning "for beauty, for luck." Often used in medicinal treatments, the sculpture was rubbed with red earth and white chalk to assure healthy protection for a mother and her child. The largest bead is actually a miniature basket, and may represent the container which would hold ingredients used in healing. Bena Lulua figures have a unique way of stacking zones of the body into place, and this example is well detailed despite its small size.
Wood, fiber, shell, reed, bead, and cloth
2 3/8 x 7/8 x 7/8 in. (6 x 2.25 x 2.25 cm)
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.833
