Standing female figure

Description

wood, partly shiny dark brown patina, leather-cuff at the right anklet (rep.?), red cord as ear ornament, crypto fetish, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
in contrast to masks, which are used by the “tengabisi” in family religious ceremonies, figures are used by the “nakomsé” in a political context, as visual affirmations of the “nam” or the right to rule of the “naba”. Some figures are used for a short period for the burial of chiefs, and are destroyed, while others receive annual sacrifices to royal ancestors. When exposed to public view in “nakomsé” year-end ancestral sacrifices, figures invariably wear a small cloth wrapper that covers the lower part of the body and thighs in imitation of traditional womens dress. Figures in collections outside Africa are unclothed. During the remaining months, figures are stored in the “kimse roogo”, in the hut of the chief’s senior wife.