Standing female figure "kamba" · Sierra Leone, Mende · ID: 3045737
sold
EUR 6,000
Provenance
Old British CollectionSize
H: 58 cm
H: 22.8 inch
Description
wood, shiny black patina, silver sheet metal, rep. cracks
Two figures, probably from the same workshop, depicted in Gottschalk (2011), ill. 156 and 157 (see also AHDRC 0112702 and 0112748).
The original name of the figures as “minsereh” is based on a phonetic misunderstanding. Rather, the figures represent “minsile”, which means something like “spirit being” and are called by the Mende “kambeisia” (sing. “kamba”).
Comparing literature
Gottschalk, Burkhard, Bundu Masken und Statuen aus privaten Sammlungen, Düsseldorf 2011, ill. 156 f.