Figural terracotta vessel · Nigeria / Cameroon, Mambila or Mfumte · ID: 3047145
Nell Bernard (*1935), Copenhagen, Denmark
Nell Bernard, née Nell Benedicte Jacobsen, is a Danish artist who has worked in sculpture, ceramics and as a graphic artist. She is the daughter of the internationally renowned Danish artist Robert Jacobsen.
Description
with closed opening at the rear,
Women of the Mambila produced such vessels for the male secret society “wankya”. They were periodically used to pour libations of palm wine onto a road in a ritual intended to protect a community against witchcraft.
The object Figural terracotta vessel with the object ID 3047145 was part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction on October 24, 2020. The object with the lot number 186 achieved a sales price of EUR 400 with an asking price of EUR 250.
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Comparing literature
Berzock, Kathleen Bickford, For hearth and altar, Chicago 2006, p. 139, ill. 84