Zemanek-Münster

Figural mortar

D. R. Congo, Mbala
sold EUR 600
Provenance
René David, Zurich, Switzerland
Harald & 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

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