Small janiform power figure "mu po" · Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke · ID: 3040627
German Private Collection, Berlin
Description
wood, black patina, partly encrusted, male and female, standing back to back, identical formed, small deepening on one side, slightly dam., 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 body into which magical substances would be placed and the cavity closed with a band of leather or cloth. Some of them would be carried by mask-wearing members of the “kungan” society during their big rituals.
The object Small janiform power figure “mu po” with the object ID 3040627 was last part of the auction 83rd Tribal Art Auction at May 28, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 327 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,500.
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