A bone sculpture - Moba - Togo (No reserve price)

Moba Bone Figurine Pair - Northern Togo These two small figurines are carved from bone and reduced to a strictly vertical, almost symbolic human form. Cylindrical bodies rise above the split legs, from which slender arms hang close to the body. Large, rounded, abstracted heads lack detailed facial features. The finely incised geometric decoration is particularly appealing: cross-hatching, zigzag bands, and herringbone lines articulate the warm brown patinated surfaces. The natural density of the material, polished areas, and darker signs of wear lend the figurines an almost amber-like depth. The Moba people live primarily in northern Togo and the adjacent northeastern part of Ghana. Their best-known anthropomorphic artworks are the tchitcheri, highly abstracted figures that, in varying sizes, can be associated with personal, domestic, and communal shrines. The best-documented tchitcheri are made of wood. However, an almost identical pair of Moba figures made of bone is documented as a work from northern Togo. Whether such small-scale bone figures fulfilled the same ritual function as wooden shrine figures cannot be definitively determined without a secure original context. Literature (selection): Christine Mullen Kreamer: “Moba Shrine Figures”, African Arts 20/2, 1987, pp. 52–55, 82–83. Drouot Pierre Amrouche / Amadou Thiam: Moba Togo. Paris 1991. Alisa LaGamma / John Pemberton III: Art and Oracle. New York 2000. Some of the information and photos are generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history documents. All information and photos are protected by copyright. Inv. No. MAZ28885 Height: 16 cm/ 19 cm Weight: 180 g / 300 g (incl. stand)

Estimate:$167.94

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