Muzidi / Niombo doll figure – Bembe – DR Congo

Bembe figure, Niombo or Muzidi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fabric

Niombo Doll from the Bembe tribe of DR Congo. Cane structure , painted cotton fabric and straw inside.

The Niombo speaks to the dead : ” ‘I am a mediator, an intermediary. I move from one world to the other ”
(Farris Thompson in Dapper, 2002, p. 70).
A rare “miniature” of the dummy containing the bones of the deceased, this ancient effigy Niombo honored an individual deemed exceptional by the community, likely to become a great mediator between the two worlds.
Provenance: former private German collection.