Standing female figure "niande" ·  Burkina Faso, Mossi · ID: 3042849

Description

wood, shiny dark brown patina, rich scarification marks, min. dam., missing parts (left foot tip), slight traces of abrasion, base.
“Niande” figures, both male and female, represent royal ancestors and are displayed at annual ceremonies that occur at key points in the agricultural cycle. The very ownership of the figures confirms the chief’s right to rule. During funeral rites, which generally occur long after the actual burial, a figure may stand in for and represent the deceased chief. The figures are also important in ancestral ritual and sometimes accumulate a patina from substances offered as sacrifices to the ancestors, or from use in divination.

The object Standing female figure “niande” with the object ID 3042849 was last part of the auction 88th Tribal Art Auction at March 10, 2018 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 173.

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Comparing literature

Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 84