Cult Figure - dry hard wood of great density - Chamba- Nigeria

Imposing Cult Figure – Chamba – Nigeria. In fairly good condition safe for an age crack on one side and a native repair on the right arm. It dates back to the 1940 -1950 period. On stand. Provenance: Collected by P. Westerdijk in 1969 during his trip to the area of the Benue (Upper Benue Valley) . Bought in the town of Jalingo. Free- standing Chamba figures are rare, especially in this iconical form with huge hands dangling in front of the belly. Also characteristic for the old style presented here is the cox’comb hairdo. Although most Chamba figures, including the famous double ones, have rectangular open mouths, it is rare to see teeth in them as is the case here. The surface, roughly hewn by adze in hard wood, shows a fine sacrificial crusted pigment patina. Figures like ours are used in various cults bound up with decease control and healing practices. Literature: Richard Fardon and Christine Stelzig: Column to Volume. Formal innovation in Chamba statuary. London, 2005, figs. 5a – 5c (pp. 47 – 49) . Dimensions: 70 x 18 x 18 cm. Region /People: The Chamba live in N. E. Nigeria in the Upper Benue River Valley. Material: dry hard wood of great density. Weight: 4. 320 incl. stand Sold with handwritten declaration of authenticity by Dr. P. Westerdijk, museum ethnologist and cultural anthropologist specialized, for over 50 years now, in the study of the material cultures in African nations that live south of the Sahara.