Doll-like torso figure
Tanzania, Mambwe
sold
EUR 3,700
Provenance
Jean Willy Mestach, Brussels, BelgiumMarc Leo Felix, Brussels, Belgium
Alain Guisson, Brussels, Belgium
Jens Jahn, Munich, Germany
Size
H: 21,5 cm
H: 8.5 inch
Description
wood, black miniature glass beads, base
Of extraordinary minimalistic shape, the usually depicted female attributes (coiffure, navel, breasts, scarification marks) missing. Like the “mwana hiti” dolls used for initiation ceremonies and also worn by women in order to enhance fertility.
Publications
Jahn, Jens (ed.), Tanzania, München 1994, p. 48, ill. II/18AHDRC: 0153493