Half figure "iran otibago" · Guinea-Bissau, Bidjogo · ID: 3041823
South American Private Collection
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 26 November 2011, lot 149
French Private Collection, Paris
Description
wood, encrusted dark brown patina, a quadrangular armless body, nearly entirely coated with a gauze-like red fabric, which is spread with a dark brown mass, the front side, where the fabric is missing, shows sacrificial traces (eggshells), the neck carved with rings supporting a narrow beautiful modelled head, eyes with metal tag inlay, a cap of fabric and blackish mass with inserted feathers on top, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks, paint rubbed off (nose), base;
such massive sculptures with the look of busts resting on a base, serve as receptacles for the souls of the ancestors. They encorporate spiritual beings, called “iran”. The highest spiritual being is the Big Spirit, called “iran grande”. The “iran” have various forms and bare various names according to their destination and geographic surroundings. The human “iran” were depicted in a seated posture, they were called “iran otibago”. “Iran” in creole means “object, loaded with sacred energy”, “otibago” means as much as “civilized”. The “iran otibago” are connected with terms like fertility, farming, nutrition and abundance.
Comparing literature
The Harry Eiteljorg Collection, Indianapolis 1976, p. 58 Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 81
Publications
AHDRC: 0138595