Early 20th C. African Mumuye Wood Ancestral Figure

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jan 30, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-01-30 10:00:00 2020-01-30 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-ethnographic-4830
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• Lot Description
  West Africa, Nigeria, Mumuye peoples, ca. first half of the 20th century CE. A lovely hand-carved wooden male ancestral figure standing atop delineated legs with pointed knees and one broad foot. The statue bears protruding hips and hemispherical genitalia beneath an extremely narrow waist, a slender abdomen with a protruding navel, stocky shoulders flanking a puffed-out chest, and thin, bar-shaped arms draped at his sides. The tubular neck supports a bulbous head which features incised circular eyes, a triangular nose, pursed lips, and a projecting chin, with hanging panels protecting the sides of his neck, and a crested coiffure on top. Espresso-hued natural pigment is visible across the entire figure, and smooth patina has formed in areas where the pigment has worn away. A lovely and intriguing figurative example from the Mumuye! Size: 5" W x 26.3" H (12.7 cm x 66.8 cm); 28.125" H (71.4 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The artistic style of Mumuye figurative sculptures - like this example - is defined by long, narrow, and pole-like forms, with abstract facial features often carved or applied with bright pigment. The Mumuye create figures known as "iagalagana," entities who represent ancestral spirits, who provide instructions to new initiates of their secret society. Their abstract presentation reflects the role of the iagalagana as outside of the human world and the realm of physical existence.
  
  A stylistically-similar example of a larger size hammered for EUR 27,500 ($30,504.38) at Christie's, Paris "Futur anterieur: la Collection d'Art africain de Liliane et Michel Durand-Dessert" auction (sale 16410, June 27, 2018, lot 46): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/statue-mumuye-janari-a-mumuye-figure-6150830-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=6150830&sid=de2a2180-f646-4e29-ae2a-49605b831672
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private New York, USA collection, acquired from Fernandez Leventhal Gallery, New York, New York, USA
  
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  #149216

  Condition

  Repair to back of hips below waist, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Losses to left foot and areas of right foot, waist, and arms as shown. Minor nicks and abrasions to limbs, body, and head, with light softening to some finer details, fading and chipping to original mud pigment, and light encrustations within some recessed areas. Nice earthen deposits and traces of original pigment throughout. Smooth patina in scattered areas where pigment has worn away.
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