Standing female figure · Sierra Leone, Temne · ID: 3035054
not available anymore
Size
H: 41 cm
H: 16.1 inch
Description
wood, partly shiny brown patina, metal bracelet, with funnel-shaped headgear, min. dam., missing parts (headgear, base), cracks, traces of insect caused damage;
such figures were used from female dignitaries “an-Digba” of the “bondo” women society. They were part of their most valuable ritual belongings and were kept hidden in a personal room. Only on one occasion, i. e. the intitiation of young girls into adulthood, such a figure was presented to the public.
Comparing literature
Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 474