Object 52 : 2

Notice

The plates portraying the kings were major pieces in the new mode of expression created by the artist Ibrahim Njoya. The choice of costume, the presence of the throne and certain attributes of power indicate the political function of the drawings inspired by the portraits of Kaiser Wilhelm II. King Njoya is shown standing in front of his palace, in a half-German, half-Muslim costume that he is also wearing in a photograph taken in 1912. He is holding his book of the history of the kingdom, written in the writing he invented before the arrival of the first Europeans. Two other sovereigns stand out from the group: top right, the great conqueror King Mbuembue; below, in profile, King Nsangu, Njoya's father, whom the artist has drawn in his own likeness. On the death of King Njoya, these drawings commemorated his reign and were supplemented by the portraits of his successors.
Alexandra Loumpet Galitzine