A Soba chair

A Soba chair
wood
carved stretchers and "Figures", carved backrest and "Geometric motifs" and "Mwana Pwó mask", other carved decorations "Geometric motifs", leather seat
Angolan - Tshokwe
20th C. (1st half)
various faults in carvings, other faults and defects, wear, patine wear
purchased from Soba Minganjo of Cangonga on 29 March 1968
Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 65 x 25 x 29 cm
Notes: Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva, item nº 10, mentioned in the notebook of the collector «Angola - Black Art, List and description of the pieces», identified therein as «Cadeira de Soba - (Txituamo Txa Muata)»: "It belonged to Soba Cangonga, who gave the name to the village of Cagonga, located at km 877.0 of the Benguela Railway line. [...] The side and front stretchers were carved with frieze figures that are badly damaged. [...] The one on the right, in better condition (although the figures are headless) represents the Cangonga soba with his two wives: the soba in the corner; on the right side the first wife named NACAFUXE and on the left side the second one named NAMASSÊHÔ. [...] has a Muana Púo mask carved in the center, of 'good quality', with perforated eyes and mouth; on the back, the space occupied by the mask is hollowed out and covered by an engraved metal plate with openings corresponding to the eyes and mouth. The rest of the stretcher is decorated with notches forming triangles (rear) and rectangles (front) [...]. Purchased from the Soba MINGANJO of Cangonga, by the foreman of the Cangonga railway party, Deolindo Anciães, on March 29, 1968, who offered it. This chair belonged to Soba Cangonga, first Soba of the village that was named after him, grandfather of Soba MINGANJO. Upon his death, the chair passed to his successor, his son and uncle of the last Soba who owned it. [...] One day, when I was passing through the Cangonga population gathering, in mid-1966 or early 1967, I saw the Cangonga Soba, sitting in his chair. I asked to take a picture [...] and I suggested that he sell it, which did not work despite all my efforts. It was inherited from his grandfather, the first soba, and he couldn't live without it. So I asked the foreman Anciães, and the head of the 9th section (Munhango) Emílio Augusto de Carvalho, to try to purchase the chair. The then Commander of the Detachment [...] Alferes Costa Pereira, who accompanied me on the visit and saw my interest in the chair, was also interested in it, even offering 1,500$00 Escudos, but he was unable to acquire it. The way the chair ended up in the hands of Anciães is curious. After many days of talks, secret from time to time and ever-increasing offers, Anciães lost hope of ever getting the chair. Unexpectedly, the initiative came from Soba himself. One day, while Anciães was working on the line, and far from the village, he sent for the wife of foreman Anciães. She was taken aback, not understanding the meaning of the Soba's very strange request. She was hesitant to go, afraid; but she was a fearless woman: she took the shotgun, loaded it and called her maid to accompany her to the soba's house to find out what he wanted, maybe even a little carried away by her curiosity. What was her astonishment when she realized that the Soba had called her so that she could tell her husband, in secret, that he was selling him the chair. The deal was carried out by Anciães with the utmost precautions, but he never managed to find out how it was done, nor how much was paid for the chair. [...] Anciães did not know why the Mingajo Soba took the initiative to hand him the chair. I've thought about it many times, but I can't find a clear justification, especially since I think the Soba would have had better offers than my friend made him. Perhaps the explanation for this fact lies in the behavior of some old Sobas in relation to the Dundo Museum (Lunda) that were referred to me by the then curator of the Museum Mário Fontinha (1965). Some of the best items in the museum had been unexpectedly donated by their owners, after all hope of purchasing them had been lost. The old Sobas always explained the reason for their offerings in the same way: they were old and waiting to die and wanted to leave this world, making sure that these items, so dear to them (some linked to their function of command or personal use) , would be well esteemed, free from abuse and even destruction. This is because, they said, the men who would inherit them no longer knew how to value these items loaded with prestige significance, not only for their artistic value, but above all, for the vital force of those who used them. By handing them over to the Museum they knew that these items would be well cherished and kept and that they would continue, through them, in the memory of men. Did Soba Miganjo also feel that his end was near [...]? I can't say for sure, but it's a possible hypothesis." "These chairs reveal a bantuized architecture of the archaic «leather chairs» of the 17th century, introduced by the Portuguese, and the ornament used by carpenters was replaced by figured friezes, a kind of historic frieze from Tchokwe sculptors" - cf. REDINHA, José - "Album Etnográfico Portugal-Angola". Luanda: C.I.T.A, 1971, p. 60. Other soba chairs are represented in REDINHA, José - "Album Etnográfico Portugal-Angola". Luanda: C.I.T.A, 1971, p. 61; in DIAS, Jorge (direc.) - "Escultura Africana no Museu de Etnologia do Ultramar". Lisboa: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, 1968, s/p, nº 150, (as "Cadeira de chefe"); in JORDÁN, Manuel. “Chokwe!- Art and Initiation Among Chokwe and Related Peoples”. Munich/London/New York: Prestel-Verlag, 1998, s/p, nºs 18-19 (as "Chief's throne"); and in BASTIN, Marie-Louise. "La sculpture Tshokwe”. Arcueil: Alain et Françoise Chaffin, 1982, pp. 271-280, figs. 186-195 (as "Chaise").