Standing male shrine figure · Nigeria, Igbo · ID: 3041170
Helga & Hans-Jürgen Müller, Stuttgart, Germany
Description
wood, dark brown patina, kaolin, flat facial plane with encrusted sacrificial patina, “ichi” scarification marks on forehead and both face halves, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks (back of the head, back, base), piece of wood reinserted at the left heel, base;
apart from “ikenga” figures which are personal shrines carved for individual adult men, most of the Igbo figures were created to address community concerns, and most were collectively owned, if sometimes by lineages on behalf of a larger group. Most figural sculptures were housed in shrines dedicated to tutelary deities heading public cults and associated with parts of the natural world such as rivers, forests, the earth, or with days of the week and the markets held on them.
The object Standing male shrine figure with the object ID 3041170 was part of the auction 84th Tribal Art Auction on November 5, 2016. The object with the lot number 102 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500 with an asking price of EUR 2,500.
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