Prestige vessel · Mozambique, Tsonga, Muhlati (or his workshop) · ID: 3049695
Description
wood, rest.
Based on stylistic features, this vessel can be attributed to a carver named Muhlati (or his workshop).
His work is distinctive and characterised by figures with incised circular eyes, circular ears with an interior triangular form and slit mouths. He worked with blonde wood, with hair and clothing of his figures darkened by branding.
A figure by his hand illustrated in Stevenson & Graham-Stewart, 2003, p. 45. A figural vessel by Muhlati published in AHDRC 0116214.
Muhlati was a noted carver who was active in the colonial Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) in Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) in the late19th century. He was a member of the Tsonga or Shangaan ethnic group and was famous throughout the land for his talent. He is best known for his distinctively styled, figural carvings, bowls and tankards.
The object Prestige vessel with the object ID 3049695 was part of the auction Sale 100 on April 15, 2023. The object with the lot number 99 achieved a sales price of EUR 7,000 with an asking price of EUR 3,000.
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Comparing literature
Stevenson, Michael & Michael Graham-Stewart, The Mlungu in Africa, 2003