1969.S.120 Arrow holder with head and three prongs

Decorated with incised geometric designs representing pangolin or tortoise scales and a female figure or head, bow stands were items of royal regalia that served both practical and spiritual purposes. They  were used to hold bows and arrows as well as symbolize sacred kingship. They refer to Mbidi Kiluwe, a culture hero and renowned hunter and warrior, who used a bow and arrows and introduced sacred kingship to the Luba. This one retains traces of oil that had been rubbed into the wood.

Royal bow stands were not displayed in public but kept by rulers' bedsides. They were also enshrined  with potent relics of past kings in a shrine house located within the royal compound and guarded by the Kyabuta, a female dignitary. The head on this bow stand probably represents a female founder of a royal clan.

Luba: AAT: 300016356

Democratic Republic of the Congo (nation): TGN: 1000159

wood (plant material): AAT: 300011914

arrows: AAT: 300036976

bows (weapons): AAT: 300036999

hunters (people): AAT: 300025619

storage containers: AAT: 300197582

kingship (rulership / culture-related concepts): AAT: 300404762

pangolins: AAT: 300255516

regalia: AAT: 300185696

relics: AAT: 300250795

royalty (nobility): AAT: 300188750

scale pattern: AAT: 300010142

storage containers: AAT: 300197582

tortoises (animals): AAT: 300250297

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection of Congo Sculpture, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

The main source for this provenance is the Object Summary dated May 18, 2006, copy in Dallas Museum of Arts Collections Records object file. Exceptions and supporting documentation are noted. 

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.120