Big ritual figure for "shango" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3036093
Description
wood, reddish brown patina, shiny, matt and encrusted in some areas, with remains of camwood powder, in shape of a kneeling mother, carrying one child on the back and a second one on the lap, unusual coiffure (one half of the head shaved), abundant adorned with necklace and bracelets, scarification marks on the cheeks, crowned by a massive double-axe symbol, carved with bird sculptures in pairs, slightly dam. (nose, mouth), surface structure marked by insect caused damage, missing part (base backside), rep. (head of the child on the lap/right wrist, base right hand side), base;
since the figure is carved without handle for support it was apparently not made for processions, but was possibly intended for an altar.
The object Big ritual figure for “shango” with the object ID 3036093 was part of the auction 76th tribal art auction on March 22, 2014. The object with the lot number 480 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,800 with an asking price of EUR 3,500.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Expertise
Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, 01.05.2003, Munich, Germany