250436 - African Tukula box "ngedi mu ntey" from the Kuba Peoples - Congo.

African Tukula box "ngedi mu ntey" from the Kuba Peoples - Congo.
Size Total length 31 cm and 8.5 cm wide.
This Kuba Tukula box is dated mid 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Crescent-shaped hand-carved wooden Tukula box "ngedi mu ntey" from the Kuba Peoples. This piece stored Tukula which is used as both a dry powder and as a paste mixed with palm oil. Women use it as a cosmetic or dye to anoint bodies for burial, to decorate the face and chest and to dye cloth.
This is a beautiful incised carved wood half moon shaped lidded Tukula Powder Box carved by the Kuba people of the Congo. Tukula is a red powder that is finely ground from parts of the Camwood tree. To the Kuba it is an immensely valuable substance, the Western equivalent of gold. Tukula is both auspicious and prophylactic. Its earthy or purplish red color is used abundantly in decoration, rubbed onto items such as cups, containers, figures, weapons, oracles etc. to honor and beautify them. Tukula is also used to bless people like new born babies, pregnant women, new mothers, warriors, the diseased and the deceased. It's usually applied after having been mixed in a special wooden or clay dish with oil extracted from palm-kernels. Tukula will be preserved in special decorated wooden boxes that come in many shapes, sizes and designs. Each Box is uniquely carved by the family. This particular Tuluka box is intricately carved and shaped.