Male commémorative figure ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Bété · ID: 3042876

Description

wood, black patina, extremely elongated neck, old collection label “WCL 72-83-5 Silberman”, slightly dam. (nose, mouth, ears), missing part (left foot tip).
Formerly, when a person died, the male heirs carved a piece of bamboo the length of the body. This bamboo was a receptacle for the deceaseds vital fluid and was kept by a close relative. During the commemorative celebrations in honour of the deceased, it was carried by an old woman who led the procession of crying women. This rudimentary representation, called “kole”, was sometimes replaced with wooden statuettes, like the present one.

The object Male commémorative figure with the object ID 3042876 was last part of the auction 87th Tribal Art Auction at November 11, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 249 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,500.

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Comparing literature

Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genève 1993, p. 90