LUBA - Visions of Africa

This image-filled book features outstanding works of Luba art from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Major themes to be addressed include the role of visual and performance arts in Luba traditional politics; the symbolism of the female image and why 'the king is a woman' for Luba; the instrumentality of royal insignia in politics, problem-solving, and healing; and the use of art objects in the creation and transmission of historical knowledge in both the Luba heartland and its peripheries. Case studies from the authors' long research among Luba, Tabwa, and related peoples of the Congo will illuminate the complex philosophical underpinnings of Luba thought and visual expression.

"Visions of Africa" is a series devoted to the arts of Africa grouped according to the different populations. Each volume follows two main guidelines: one, visual and aesthetic, offers a selection of photographs of masterpieces while the other, theoretic and contextual, explores, for a broad public, the significance of these items within the population that created them. The series presents a set of introductory books for readers wishing to discover the arts of the different populations and of reference books for those who intend to learn more about them.

Visions of Africa is edited by Anne-Marie Bouttiaux, chief curator of the Ethnography Department at the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren Belgium.