Standing male figure / puppet ·  Tanzania, Sukuma / Nyamwesi · ID: 3049374

Description

wood, pokerwork, pigment residues, the separately worked movable arms, formerly fastened by means of nails, are missing, base

These figures were carried by dancers and their limbs moved according to the corresponding devices.

Meurant (Jahn,1994, p. 225) already assumed that figures with movable limbs or genitals were called “(a)maleba”. An “ileba” is an object used to attract the attention of the audience. Bessire (2005) reports that the figures appeared in dance competitions, where the winners were those who could attract the largest crowd.

The object Standing male figure / puppet with the object ID 3049374 was last part of the auction 99th Auction at November 12, 2022 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 152 achieved a sales price of EUR 450.

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Comparing literature

Jahn, Jens (Hg.), Tanzania, München 1994, p. 225 Aimée Bessire: "At a Safe Distance: Sukuma Dance Figures and the Arousal of Spectacle", in: African Arts, Spring 2005