Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
Mangbetu

Wood, Leather, Metal Studs, Sheet Copper, Fiber Strings
ca. Mid-20th century
Height: 37.4 inches
Chordophone – Harp – Plucked

Impressive Mangbetu harp depicted in anthropomorphic figure with 4 strings. Hand carved from wood, shod with sheet copper and studs with the resonating body covered with leather. The Mangbetu are famous mostly for their clay mugs and musical instruments, with statues and other objects being rare. Most of their figural art is distinctive for the elongated heads, which is probably an influence from the ancient Egyptians that filtered south into the Sudan thousands of years ago.  Mangbetu art is a royal art, so most objects that exist are elegant, refined, and of great beauty.

Mangbetu harps have been studied in depth as art objects; their musical use, however, remains largely unexplored. Although they appear in historical photographs from the region, these rarely show the harp being played. As the Mangbetu enthusiasm for carving continued and harps became increasingly figurative, the ability to appropriately string and tune the instruments became increasingly difficult. Before long, the importance of the harp as a musical instrument was replaced by its importance as an art object.