Large calabash ·  Tanzania, Sukuma · ID: 3035120

Description

waisted in the middle, wrapped with stripes of animal skin and a string of white glass beads, two metal bells attached, leather band for support, stopper in shape of a human head with red glass bead eyes rising from a long shaft, slightly dam., encrusted with clay, corrosion, hairline cracks;
mainly used as containers for medicines, ointments, pigments, sacred oils, and symbolic substances. Sometimes gourds with anthropomorphic stoppers were placed on top of small stools to serve as ancestor figure.

The object Large calabash with the object ID 3035120 was last part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction at May 25, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 72 achieved a sales price of EUR 450.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about African art.