The farewell tour

Mark Ostow

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Unidentified Luba artist
Bowl-Bearing Figure (Mboko)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Late 19th–early 20th century
Wood
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborne for the Linton Collection of African Art

This is a bowl-bearing figure by an unidentified Luba artist. I think it is extremely beautiful aesthetically. It’s a female figure with the legs and arms fully extended, holding up this wonderful offering. And besides it being an incredibly successful work of art, it also comes from a culture in which women were venerated. It’s very three-dimensional, in that it’s interesting in every way you approach it: from the front, the side, and the back, and looking down into it. Also, it is presented in a way that I think is truly accessible. This installation allows people to come and visit this work without it being surrounded with a big Plexiglas bonnet. You thus don’t have reflections of light limiting how you encounter this piece. And you can get really close to it and look at the intricacy of how the woman’s hairstyle is carved, for example.