Altar head "a-tshol" / "elek" · Guinea, Baga, Sitem · ID: 3053240
Starting price
EUR 2,000
Estimated price
EUR 4,000
Provenance
Han Coray (1880-1974), Zurich / Agnuzzo, SwitzerlandPaolo Morigi, Magliaso-Lugano, Switzerland
Quittenbaum, Hamburg, Germany, 12 February 2008, lot 0711036
Lempertz, Brussels, Belgium, 12 February 2016, lot 33
Bernd & Rita Schlimper, Düsseldorf, Germany
Size
M: 47 cm x 47 cm
M: 18.5 inch x 18.5 inch
Description
wood, brass tacks, collector’s / inventory No. “HC138”
The altar head “tshol” belonged to the most sacred and highly revered insignia kept in the custody of the Baga clan elder. A-tshol were displayed in the sacred clan house and were regarded as “agents of transformation.” They were intended to ward off sorcery, protect the clan, and provide whatever support was needed both by the clan as a whole and by individual clan members.
Publications
AHDRC: 0132393