Creative Mediations: The Figurative Ceramics of Voania (from) Muba

Boldly emblazoning his signature VOANIA MUBA across the sides of his works, the potter Voania,¹ from the small town of Muba in the west of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, clearly claims his ceramics. The style of his pots, with their naturalistic figures perched upon almost spherical chambers, is immediately recognizable. The figures' faces are impressively uniform in style, with a plump, round shape and almond-shaped eyes empty of any delineation of an iris or pupil. Almost all of Voania's works fit into five icono-graphic themes: equestrians, seated figures, standing figures, couples, and heads—each categorized by the type of figure situated atop the spherical base. More than 100 of his ceramics, dating from the late nineteenth century until his death in 1928, can be found in museums and private collections across Europe and the United States. Such a corpus of signed historical works by a single artist is...