Art and Power in the Central African Savanna by Constantine Petridis

Luba, Songye Chokwe, and Luluwa, four culturally and historically related peoples living in a vast region in the Central African savanna, have all produced and used a variety of power objects.  Typically, such objects, carved of wood in human or animal shape, are containers or receptacles for various plant, animal, and even human ingredients.  These sculptures mediate between the human and spirit worlds, and have the capacity to heal, protect, render justice, or harm.  As such, they are associated with  religious beliefs and practices sometimes labeled as "magic".  The distinction scholars commonly make between arts that serve religious functions and those with political purposes often relates to their separation into "folk art" or "court art". 

This book argues however that among the Luba, Songye, Chokwe, and Luluwa religion and leadership coincide in figure sculptures characterized by large size, refined finish and meticulously rendered anatomical and decorative details.  The fusion of the sacred and the profane in these four peoples' artistic production took form in elaborately carved power figures embodying ideas of leadership and prestige; this synthesis occurred in conjuction with political and social reforms that let to a higher degree of centralization and the emergence of an elite class of high-ranking titleholders.

Hardcover, 159 pages