LUBA HEADRESTS ARCHIVES

LUBA 20 SOLD

LUBA 21 SOLD

LUBA 22 SOLD

LUBA 23 SOLD

LUBA 1 SOLD	LUBA 4 SOLD	LUBA 5 SOLD	LUBA 7 SOLD	LUBA 8 SOLD
LUBA 9 SOLD	LUBA 10 SOLD	LUBA 12 SOLD	LUBA 15 SOLD	LUBA 16 SOLD
LUBA 17 SOLD	LUBA 18 SOLD	LUBA 19 SOLD	LUBA 6A SOLD

Most Luba art relates to kings and important chiefs, who defined their power by the display of prestige objects during important ceremonies. Headrests were more personal, and were used primarily to support the neck, preserving the elaborate hair styles traditional among the Luba people. Motifs included figures, pairs of figures, a figure on horseback and more. The user was literally as well as figuratively supported by the carved figures, which also symbolized the continuity of power in a matrilineal society. Elaborate coiffures and scarification patterns attested to the high rank of both the depicted figure and the owner of the headrest. Similar in style and quality are Luba stools, among the most prized in Africa.