Wood, ritual patination height 6 1/2in (16.5cm) Provenance Christie's, Paris, 16 June 2009, Lot 290 Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection, Washington, D.C. David Binkley notes, "Kuba woodcarvers were known for figural and cephalomorphic cups. The former usually emphasize the head, with a short neck and abbreviated torso, lower limbs, and feet, (see previous lot). On other cups, the head dominates and is often positioned above a flaring circular base. The emphasis on the head and hairstyle--especially the forehead, sides, and back of the head--is consistent with that of other contemporaneous wood carvings traditions such as the Kuba ndop figures representing the paramount ruler (nyim) and certain masking traditions. The distinctive silhouettes of the head on these cups are also consistent with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century hairstyles. . . Figural cups like these were certainly carved as prestigious display pieces for titled individuals." ([Masterpieces from Central Africa, Gustaaf Verswijver, et. al. (eds), p. 172] For the artist who made it, this cup is a resplendent example of the classic form with a meditative expression to the face and elegant, sweeping back coiffure; superb, reflective dark brown patina with craquelure to ritual patination.