Lega Figural Scepter Congo

This carved wooden scepter is attributed to the Lega people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and dates to the early 20th century. Tall and vertically oriented, it features a stacked series of stylized human faces carved in low relief along the shaft, a form closely associated with Lega sculptural traditions.

Among the Lega, such objects are connected to the Bwami society, a hierarchical initiation system that governed moral education, social order, and leadership. Scepters like this functioned as symbols of authority, wisdom, and accumulated knowledge, held or displayed by initiated elders during ceremonies. The repetition of faces references ancestral presence, collective memory, and moral exemplars, reinforcing Bwami teachings about proper conduct and communal responsibility.

The surface patina and visible wear indicate ritual handling over time, underscoring its role as an active cultural object rather than a purely decorative work.

Height: 20.5
Width: 4.0
Depth: 4.0

153098