Congo

The Congo region is home to many peoples, from the Kongo near the Atlantic coast to Luba and Mangbetu communities farther inland. The Kingdom of Kongo was one important part of this much larger cultural world.

Clothing, hairstyles and body markings helped people express status and identity. Some wore raised scars; others had pigment worked into cuts. Nineteenth-century accounts describe striking spiral designs on the faces of people then called Bena Lulua and Bashilange.

A ruler's appearance could be carefully planned. Patterned caps, dressed hair, ornaments and body decoration drew attention to the person giving an audience. Carved figures also show these details, preserving the styles of people who lived long before the camera.

The pictures move from royal courts to portraits and village life. They reveal how much care could go into a hairstyle, a garment or a pattern on the skin—and how differently that care was expressed across the region.