Fertility doll "mwana hiti" · Tanzania, Kwere · ID: 3035273
Paul Kummert, Frankfurt, Germany
Description
wood, brown patina, blackened in parts, typical form, bipartite coiffure, miniature bead necklace, min. dam., small missing parts;
the term “mwana hiti” relates to trunk figures common all over East Tanzania. Most famous are those of the Zaramo and the Kwere. Until the end of the 19th century their usage was multifunctional. They served as tips for staffs, tomb figures, stoppers for calabashes, ancestor figures, for decoration of combs and music instruments and finally as dolls for ritual purposes.
The object Fertility doll “mwana hiti” with the object ID 3035273 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 447.
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