Fertility doll "ikoku" ·  Kenya, Turkana · ID: 3033734

Description

light brown wood, metal wire, showing reduced, elegant forms, ears, neck and hips adorned with strings of glass beads, wearing a leather apron with strings of small vertebrae and seed vessels attached, min. dam., on wooden base;
with 200 000 people the Turkana form one of the most important nomadic people of Kenya. Their homeland is Turkanaland in the north of Kenya, in the area around Lake Turkana. The making of dolls is traditonal. The dolls are carved by the father and decorated by the mother. After having reached puberty, the young girls use them for practicing their later role of motherhood. The tapering leather apron is typical for unmarried young girls.

The object Fertility doll “ikoku” with the object ID 3033734 was last part of the auction 71st tribal art auction at November 24, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 476 achieved a sales price of EUR 600.

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Comparing literature

Bofinger, Brigitte und Wolfgang, Puppen aus Afrika, Stuttgart 2006, p. 79