A very rare and ancient female cult statuette wearing a pointed headdress (perhaps an initiation headdress). Its face, sculpted in an elegant, classic concave heart shape, inevitably refers us to the sculpture in the previous lot (lot 44), so much so that its rarity and obvious age make it even more intriguing. It is highly probable that a future discovery will one day enable us to precisely attribute this sculpture. The most likely lead today is an equally rare female sculpture, topped with a headdress, in the collections of the Stockholm Museum (inv. no. 1917.01. 0104), collected by Elias Arrhenius (captain in the Belgian army in the Congo from 1907) and attributed to the Bango Bango, with obvious similarities, in particular a very elegant, heart-shaped, concave face; the earliest information gathered being often the most accurate and relevant. Bango Bango (also written Bangu Bangu) or surrounding people, Maniema, Democratic Republic of Congo 19th or early 20th century Wood, antique glass bead necklace, remnants of feather inclusions in the headdress, minor accidents and visible age-related cracks, beautiful age-related oxidation of the wood, beautiful antique patina. H. 29.5 cm Provenance : Acquired between 1956 and 1957 by Mr. V., territorial administrator in Maniema (former Belgian Congo) from 1952 to 1959.