LUBA. To the Source of the Zaire

253 pages, 121 color and 89 b/w photographs, 2 maps. Cloth cover. Small folio size (9 1/2" x 13"). Twenty years of research by the author have resulted in the publication of this volume, the most comprehensive study to date of the Luba arts. Centered around the main categories of Luba artistic objects and their relation to political institutions, the text examines the "bowl bearers" and other instruments of divination, which lead to the Luba world of prophets, seers, and diviners, the foundation myths of the kingdoms, and the royal enthronement rites and the objects used for it. In addition, objects--sculpted and non-sculpted--used in every day life are extensively examined in this ethno-morphological study of the cultural, historical, and sociological factors that led to the emergence of the Luba Kingdom. The objects, illustrated in large, excellent color photographs, were displayed at a major Luba exhibition at the Musee Dapper in late 1993 and early 1994.