Figure d´ancêtre
Gallerie Flak, Paris, France
French Private Collection
Description
wood, greyish brown patina, pigment remains, small face rising from long columnar neck, voluminous coiffure with pierced lobes on each side, collection number “243” handwritten in white paint on the backside, dam., missing parts (right forearm and leg, left leg just partially preserved), cracks, base;
Mumuye effigies have several functions. They reinforce the traditional power of the Elders and grant a priviledged status to the family group who possess them. The first function of these sculptures is to watch over the family enclosure and to protect its inhabitants as well as guests who are allowed to enter there. The effigy, through the intermediary of the soothsayer or healer, intervenes in healing practices in times of sicknesses or epidemics.