Standing female figure ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Dan · ID: 3034573

Description

light brown wood, dark brown patina, remains of pigments, carved rings around legs, hips, arms and hands, the chest decorated with a brass nail, small metal teeth, min. dam., missing parts (foot tips), slight traces of abrasion, wooden socle;
wooden figures, called “lü mä”, are are not thought to represent ritual ancestors or spirits, they are rather portraits of living persons, even carrying the name of the represented human. Typically a portrait of a woman esteemed by her husband - a chief or important figure - who commissioned the work from a sculptor. The husband would take possession of it with some pomp, then hide it away jealously, showing it only on special occasions. These portrait figures show individual traits of the depicted person, maybe her tattoos or coiffure, the form of her breasts or the navel, a special form of the face or the lips, which are worked into a typified image of a figure.

Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard, Himmelheber, Hans, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, p. 152 f.