TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities

"Altering The Way You View The World Of Art"
Type of Object:
    Mangbetu "Kundi" Harp

    Bow Harp, "Kundi", a musical instrument with a wood body, hide
    overlay and hand-woven strings. There is a female human effigy at
    the top of the throat. This is an exquisite museum quality
    anthropomorphic harp from the Mangbetu peoples who live in the
    northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formally
    Zaire).  This complex musical instrument is almost impossible to
    find now because of civil strife in the Congo.
       
    These harps  (Kundi) function as a 5 string musical instrument but
    also are used in religious and secular ceremonial court functions.
    They are considered a “prestige object.”
  
Ethnic Group:  
    Mangbetu Society

Country of Origin:          
                                               Congo

Material:          
                                               Wood
                                               Hide
                                               Copper Wire

Deminsions:


Reference:                  
    THE TRIBAL ARTS OF AFRICA by JEAN-BAPTISTE
    BACQUART, p140,143).