Female dance figure · Tanzania, Sukuma · ID: 3035132
Hermann Sommerhage, Duisburg, Germany
Walter Hekster, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Description
wood, reddish brown patina, blackish paint, head and right arm carved separately, fixed by nails, originally separate worked breasts attached (traces of nails and a lighter patina in correspondent place), dam., missing parts (both foot-tips, left arm), missing parts which could be of natural origin (knag) or insect caused damage, strong abrasion, crack, on plate;
used at initiation rites, which surely were associated with fertility, whereupon the accentuation of the female genitals and the bulging belly refer to.
The object Female dance figure with the object ID 3035132 was part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction on May 25, 2013. The object with the lot number 94 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,800 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.
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.
Publications
"Geist-Reich", Marl 2000, p. 85