Standing male ancestor figure "tadep" · Cameroon, Mambila · ID: 3042402
Description
wood, slightly encrusted brown patina, remains of pigments, typical details: zigzag-contour of the legs, pear-shaped body, the hand held up to the chin, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, traces of abrasion, base;
figures like this were commonly described as ancestor representations or guardian figures. Rather, it would appear to be a ritual object connected with a healing association called “suàgà”. The local name of such sculptures would be “tadep”. Usually these were male-female pairs. Together with other “suàgà” paraphernalia, they were stored in granaries.
The object Standing male ancestor figure “tadep” with the object ID 3042402 was last part of the auction 86th Tribal Art Auction at May 27, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 370.
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Comparing literature
Gebauer, Paul, Art of Cameroon, New York 1979, p. 213