Lot 88, Auction 4/20/2026: Central African Divination Tools, Rattle & Janus Figure

$325.00

In stock

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, Chokwe and Luba Peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century. A compelling pair of divination-related objects consisting of a Chokwe woven basketry rattle and a Luba Janus-headed divination implement. The Chokwe example is formed in an elongated hourglass silhouette, woven from cane with braided binding along the spine, and fitted with internal seeds and pods that create a crisp rattling sound when shaken, functioning in dance and musical performance as well as ritual contexts to summon and honor ancestral presence. The Luba piece is a carved wooden ring-form instrument surmounted by a Janus head with two opposing faces, symbolically oriented to look both forward and back, referencing ancestral memory and future lineage. Used in divination, it would be held by both client and diviner with the flat base placed to the ground, allowing subtle movement and directional shifts to register responses during consultation. Size of rattle: 11.5″ L x 3.75″ W (29.2 cm x 9.5 cm)

Condition: Minor chips and stable pressure fissure on wooden head, but otherwise intact with nice patina. Rattle is intact and produces sound.

Provenance: private Louisville, Kentucky, USA collection, acquired 1990-1998

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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