Colon figure ·  Kenya, Kamba · ID: 3032381

Description

wood, matt patina, blackened in parts, metal sheet, wearing an uniform with short and a fez-like headgear, separately carved movable arms, the eyes inset with white miniature beads, rep. (left hand), min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base;
he Kamba traditionally applied their carving skills to articles of daily use, such as stools, spoons, snuff bottles, handles for knives and axes, as well as prestigious ceremonial sticks. The first figurative carvings can be traced back to one man - Mutisya Munge - a Kamba tribesman, who joined the army in 1914 and at the same time began to produce carvings of Askaris and African people in traditional clothing for the purpose of selling them to Europeans.

Comparing literature

Stevenson, Michael, Graham-Stewart, Michael, The Mlungu in Africa, 2003, p. 72