Ceremonial Spear

The less centralized peoples around the resource rich Upemba Depression, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, looked to the Luba heartland for their model of authority. Successful leaders who were in a position to assume more centralized power often adopted the Luba style regalia of sacred leadership to support their ambitions. This ceremonial spear is partly bound in copper ribbon and is embellished with a female figure. It is part of a pair, with the 1966.209.3a, and would probably have been based on Luba royal spears. Such spears were important symbols of legitimate power and hereditary leadership.