Standing female figure "lü mä" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Dan · ID: 3040068

Description

wood, greyish brown patina, metal teeth, eyezone accentuated with white and red pigment, carved with necklace, bracelets and tattoos, eyebrows and hairline lovingly decorated, as well as the rim of the base, slightly dam., crack (left leg);
wooden figures, called “lü mä”, are not thought to represent ritual ancestors or spirits, they are rather portraits of living persons, even carrying the name of the represented human.Typically a portrait of a woman esteemed by her husband - a chief or important figure - who commissioned the work from a sculptor. The husband would take possession of it with some pomp, then hide it away jealously, showing it only on special occasions.