H x W x D: 40.8 x 13.8 x 10.2 cm (16 1/16 x 5 7/16 x 4 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Tanzania
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
Makonde art has changed greatly in the 20th century. This figure, naturalistic with attention to scarification and hairstyle, is in the older carving style and may have been used to instruct initiates. The dynamic pose of this figure and others in museum collections suggests dancing.
Description:
Standing wood figure with legs apart, the feet partly missing, the short arms flexed, the hands held in to the torso with large rounded shoulders, the face with large protruding lips, flattened nose and eyes with half lowered lids, the top of the head and a small round section on the back of the head inset with human hair and the face and front of the body with incised zigzag decoration representing tattooing or scarification.
Provenance:
Lawrence Gussman, New York, 1983 to 1998
Exhibition History:
New Acquisitions: Gifts from the Lawrence Gussman Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., December 14, 1998-May 5, 1999
Published References:
Sotheby's. 1983. Important Tribal Art. Auction catalogue (sale no. 5132, December 2). New York, no. 158.
Content Statement:
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