Female figures are prominent in the Yombe carving tradition, with phemba maternity images being perhaps the most well-recognized. Their graceful and reverential aura reflects the esteem in which women were historically held in the matrilineal societies of the Kongo. The present figure shows characteristics that suggest associations with phemba carving – the high cap, which tells of aristocratic status, as well as the inlaid glass eyes and smooth and sensitive carving of the body –but the absence of a child figure, along with its standing posture, makes its typology uncertain. Truncation of the lower arms is likely due to the midsection of the figure having once been covered by fabric or some other accouterment. A noticeably darker patina is found at the feet, indicating most of the figure may originally have been clothed or otherwise covered.

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