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Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century
Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 2/7 Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 3/7 Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 4/7 Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 5/7 Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 6/7 Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century 7/7
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Lot 197
93rd Tribal Art Auction

Early shrine figure "ikenga", 19th century

Nigeria, Igbo
sold EUR 4,000
Provenance
British Collection
German Private Collection
Dorotheum, Vienna, 4 December 2018, Lot 81
Size
H: 66 cm
H: 26.0 inch

Description

wood, encrusted patina, pigments, sacrificial traces, rest., base

“Ikenga”, which means “place of strength”, are storage containers for the “chi”, the life energy of a person.

A striking and rare detail of this figure are the carved heads arranged in a ring around the head of the “ikenga, in which the power of the ancestors seems to be bundled. A comparable figure can be found at the African Heritage Documentation & Research Centre (AHDRC 0093427).

Africa
Figures

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