Male figure "lü mä"

Description

wood, rich blackish brown patina, frontally aligned, in a nearly military posture, mouth with inset metal teeth, diadem-like coiffure from plant fibre, rep. (breakage shoulder/left arm) fixed by nails, abrasion of paint, fine cracks, base;
present figure originally formed a couple of male/female together with the following female figure.
Figures of the Dan are rare. Sculptors maintain that carving a figure is a particularly demanding task. The possession of a figure was a mark of status, one which a man could only attain if he could both persuade a sculptor to carve a figure, and had sufficient means to sponsor a large feast.
“Lü mä” figures (=wooden person) are neither ancestor figures nor representations of spirits. They are genuine portraits. The subjects are usually living people, whose name the figures bear. According to the reports of some Dan artists, these figures are usually just the fancy of a wealthy man who, given proof of the carvers skill, commissioned a portrait of his headwife, perhaps with her baby on her back. Generally these figures depict very individualized features of the person, such as - the shape of the lips, the size of the nose, or the placement of the eyes - being impressed upon a conventional prototype in these portrait sculptures. In case an important member of the council of the elders died, such a figure could be posted at the place where he used to take a seat, in order to remind the gathering of his person and of his attitude.