Standing female figure
Burkina Faso, Mossi
not available anymore
Provenance
Alain de Monbrison, Paris, FranceSize
H: 47,5 cm
H: 18.7 inch
Description
wood, rich black shiny patina (palm oil), slender body with angular shoulders and accentuated female sexual characteristics, collection number “KMA005” at the backside of the base, slightly dam., cracks, abrasion of paint, base;
while masks exclusively were used in rural areas, the figural sculptures belonged to the scope of the sovereigns, the “nakomsé”. Present figure presumably represents an ancestor figure. Such figures are guarded and protected by Mossi chiefs and they are kept in special ancestral houses “kimse roogo”. These nude figures represent the political power of the Mossi chiefs. When exposed to public view once a year, they were clothed in fabric.
Publications
Galerie Monbrison, Paris 2016, fig.4AHDRC: 0135276