Wood length 9 1/4in (23.5cm) Provenance Marc Leo Felix, Brussels ("FC 990" written on base) Dr. Evan Maurer, Minneapolis Bonhams, New York, 14 November 2013, Lot 80 Belgium Private Collection Composed of two human torsos back to back, faces leaning forward, arms folded along the torso, the slightly concave pillow connecting the back of the two heads and decorated with small diamond patterns in relief. The Twa are a group of pygmies who live among the Kuba populations. The designation "Twa" means people of short stature in the Bantu language. The Twa are the only known pygmies to have created wood sculptures. The influence of Luba art is visible with the typical Kuba geometric designs on the pillow. We know of five other examples of this rare type of neck support: one at the RMCA, Tervuren; a second from the Jerome Joss Collection at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles; one formerly in the William Brill Collection, New York, now in the Graham Beck Collection, South Africa; another in the Theodore Celenko collection; and finally, one currently in a Detroit private collection.