Pair of shrine figures ·  Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3032771

Description

wood, greyish brown patina, male/female, their bodies well-rounded and of well-balanced proportions, the facial features and details like hands and feet, as well as the neck decolletage of the male figure delicate carved, both wearing loincloth and high tapering headcrest, each rising from an eight-sided base, dam., the surface shows traces of insect caused damage (above all the head of the female figure);
for the Yoruba shrine figures are not thought to depict deities in person, but rather their venerators and priests. The figures should illustrate the solemnity of the sacrificial act and the dignity of the persons who make the sacrifice.

Comparing literature

Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika, Linz 1997, p. 309