Mangbetu Terracotta Vessel in the Shape of Conjoined Twins

This exuberant sculptural vessel was made by the Mangbetu group of what was once Zaire. It comprises a rush-wrapped spherical vessel, which is decorated with extensive geometric and linear designs. It is decorated with a pair of bicephalous conjoined twins, with a single body and 4 limbs, but two identical heads. The figure/s is/are female, with breasts and umbilicus well marked. The left arm is behind the back, the right arm towards the front. The necks are thick and columnar, supporting heads with carefully chiseled features and pointed hats. The body is decorated with a number of scarifications and jewellery items, including neck rings and bracelets.

The Mangbetu tribe moved to the Congo region from Sudan about two hundred years ago, and is known for a complex and highly distinctive cultural metier that was based around a court system. They are particularly renowned for their musicians, which is – unusually – a professional career in Mangbetu society, and also for their extravagant dancing and ceremonial behaviour. Artistically, they are famous for their architecture and courtly arts, a range of objects made for – and at the behest of – the royal families of the region. These ranged from objects of religious and spiritual significance to everyday items decorated with significant and/or aesthetically-pleasing motifs and designs, which allow us a glimpse into Mangbetu society.

Their material culture is intimately associated with the rigid kingship system. Kings controlled, from the 1850s, a mystical force known as nebeli which was originally used to lure animals into traps, but was eventually used to deceive enemies – specifically, the early messengers of colonial powers. Their refusal to buckle under Belgian administration – unlike most of their neighbours – had serious socioeconomic repercussions. There was, however, at least a modicum of artistic freedom, for while the early stages of Mangbetu artistic development are somewhat mysterious, by the time that the European hold on the area had solidified, the Mangbetu were in the habit of trading and exchanging prestige goods between chiefly courts and, eventually, to visiting Europeans.

Conjoined twins are comparatively common in Africa, due to the higher prevalence of standard twinning rates, notably among the Yoruba. They have found their way into the legends of many groups and have a sacred status; they appear in the art of the Yoruba, Lobi, Mumuye and various others. The manner in which it has been conceived and executed suggests that it was a significant object in the eyes of the contemporary population, and that it held an important place in some religious or ritual context. It is also a beautiful piece of African art, and the deserved focus of any good collection.