Zemanek-Münster

Fetish-calabash

Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke
not available anymore
Provenance
Werner Fischer, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Birgit Schlothauer & Gustav Wilhelm, Marl, Germany
Size
H: 104 cm
H: 40.9 inch

Description

corpus of pumpkin, anthropomorphic carved neck and stopper made of wood, three animal skulls attached, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion, acrylic ring;
belonging to the local fetishman the calabash used to help people redress grievances. When, under proper ritual, the fetishman removes the stopper, the power inside the calabash is released to forcefully warn the wrongdoer of the danger in continuing harmful acts.


Comparing literature

Page, Donna, Two, three, four, Multiples in African Art, New York 1987, p. 25, ill. 38

Publications

Fischer, Werner, Kamerun und seine Kunst, Düsseldorf 1988, p. 66

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