Fetish-calabash · Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke · ID: 3033622
not available anymore
Provenance
Werner Fischer, Gelsenkirchen, GermanyBirgit 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