Figural mortar · D. R. Congo, Mbala · ID: 3033301
sold
EUR 600
Provenance
René David, Zurich, SwitzerlandHarald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany (1980)
Size
H: 40 cm
H: 15.7 inch
Description
wood, brown patina, blackened in parts, pointed stand in form of a human half figure with short arms, crowned by a funnel-shaped superstructure, rest., min. dam., minor missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, on base;
mortars of this kind were used for making snuff, for preparing medicine or sacrificial food and for mashing “pembe”, the white earth (kaolin) as well.
Comparing literature
Verswijver, Gustaaf, de Palmenaer , Els u. a. (Hg.), Afrikanische Kunst, München, London, New York 1998, p. 104, ill. 69