Seated female figure with lidded bowl
Nigeria, Yoruba, Oyo, Shaki
sold
EUR 2,600
Provenance
Maria Ehrensperger, Schwäbisch Gmünd, GermanyRolf & Christina Miehler, Munich, Germany
Neumeister, Munich, 10 June 2010, Lot 176
Walter Grasser, Munich, Germany
Size
H: 33 cm
H: 13.0 inch
Description
wood, pigment residues, base
The Yoruba used female figures carrying bowls to offer kola nuts “obi” to their guests as a sign of hospitality.
Usually these figures are depicted kneeling and the lidded bowls are carved in the form of a cock. Carvers in northern Ekiti called these figures “olumeye”, “one who knows honor”. They depicted a woman who “is a messenger of the spirits”.