Kuba cup

This cup – made to hold palm wine on special occasions – once belonged to the renowned French art dealer Paul Guillaume, one of the most important dealers of African art to the Parisian avant-garde. It originates from the kingdom of Kuba, now incorporated into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kuba are renowned for their use of surface decoration and interlacing patterns of symbolic significance. The dense geometric, carved patterns on cups derive from textile designs. This type of patterning was keenly taken up by European artists and designers in the first part of the twentieth century.

Calvin Winner, February 2022

This cup – made to hold palm wine on special occasions – once belonged to the renowned French art dealer Paul Guillaume, one of the most important dealers of African art to the Parisian avant-garde. It originates from the kingdom of Kuba, now incorporated into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kuba are renowned for their use of surface decoration and interlacing patterns of symbolic significance. The dense geometric, carved patterns on cups derive from textile designs. This type of patterning was keenly taken up by European artists and designers in the first part of the twentieth century.