Head sculpture · Cameroon, Tikar · ID: 3038929
not available anymore
Provenance
Rousselot, Paris, France (collected in 1927)Size
H: 52 cm
H: 20.5 inch
Description
wood, polychrome paint, incised decor, ears situated directly aside the eyes, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage, cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
the Tikar first were explored by the Thorbecke expedition in 1911/12. Their art is very special, especially their life-sized headcrests with cuffs of plant fibres are unique within the Cameroon Grassfields.
Probably symbolizing a founding ancestor of the royal lineage.
Comparing literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrikanische Kunst in Deutschen Privatsammlungen, München 1973, p. 287 Northern, Tamara, The Art of Cameroon, Washington D.C. 1984, p. 171, ill. 104