Janus head, ~ 16th century · Ghana, Koma-Builsa/Komaland · ID: 3042685
sold
EUR 400
Provenance
Ketterer, Munich, 14 December 1991, lot 229Heinz Kolerski, Fellbach, Germany
Size
H: 20,5 cm
H: 8.1 inch
Description
coarse-grained beige terracotta,, both faces “share” one pair of eyes and ears, the cowrie shell symbol, which is frequently ocurring with Komaland terracottas, can be found at the top of the head, slightly dam., minor missing parts, dark discolorations.
In his treatise about the terracotta finds of the Koma region, Kröger assumes that the figures and “just the fantastic figures with two heads … and the varied Janus variations” represent supernatural spirits.
Expertise
Labor Ralf Kotalla, Haigerloch, Thermoluminescence Analysis Report No 980517, 19 May 1998
Comparing literature
Kröger, Franz, Die Terrakotta-Funde des Koma-Gebietes, in: Paideuma, Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde 34 (1988), p. 129-142