Zemanek-Münster

Standing female figure

Madagascar, Sakalava
not available anymore
Provenance
Valerie und John Arieta, London, Great Britain
Paul Asenbaum, Vienna, Austria
Antonio Fiacco, Fehraltorf/Zurich, Switzerland
Size
H: 53,5 cm
H: 21.1 inch

Description

wood, slightly shiny reddish brown patina, rising from a cone shaped (cut) base with a small platform, showing a broad and plane torso with both arms tight to the body, the right hand resting on the chest in a regardful manner, coiffure in characteristic burls, arranged in a circle at the back of the head with a lobe in the centre, slightly dam. (mouth, nose, eye zone), missing parts and cracks;
for madagascan people the ancestors “razana” guarantee the existence of the living people. This is why most of their sculpture is created for graves where it is exposed to wind and weather and obtains a heavily weathered look, which is not the case with present figure. She should have been placed inside and sureley she was not alone, since in Madagascar a female figure rarely appears without a male counterpart.


Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 150

Subscribe to our newsletter

Join over 10,000 tribal art collectors. Don't miss out on upcoming news and auctions.

Subscribe today