Sitting female figure "nomoli" · Sierra Leone/Guinea/Liberia, Sapi · ID: 3039473
Swiss Private Collection
Description
soap stone, greyish brown, the right arm stretched up alongside the head, the left one missing, dam., base;
the term “Sapi” comprises the Sherbro, Temne and Kissi peoples in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, known in art history by their works in soapstone. Sculptures generally referred to by the Mende term “nomoli” are for the most part found in south-eastern Sierra Leone. There is another group of carvings, found further inland, and nowadays referred to by the Kissi term “pomdo”. The Kissi believe that they are manifestations of their deceased ancestors and place them in ancestor shrines. The Mende for their part look upon them as “rice gods”, and make offerings to them to increase their harvests.
The object Sitting female figure “nomoli” with the object ID 3039473 was last part of the auction 81st Tribal Art Auction at October 31, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 170.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.