Small figure "mu po" ·  Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke · ID: 3042437

Description

wood, dark brown patina, remains of pigments, metal ring, striking long neck and well-rounded belly, min. dam., missing part (left foreleg), slight traces of abrasion, base;
Bamileke healers and soothsayers used such small wooden statuettes to represent their patients, who would be treated at a distance. Sometimes the statuettes have a cavity in the back into which magical substances would be placed and the cavity closed with a band of leather or cloth.