An Any-Sanwi Head of a Figure, "mma" Lot n° 16

Head of a figure, "mma Anyi-Sanwi, Côte d'Ivoire Mit Sockel / with base Terracotta. H 29 cm. Provenance: - According to previous owner from "Galerie Numaga, 1989". - Swiss estate, Valais. According to the inventory of the previous owner and the label on the object acquired in 1989 by Gilbert Huguenin (Galerie Numaga, Auvernier): ""Statue funéraire Agni (fragement) ethnie Krinjabo, Région d'Assinie, Côte d'Ivoire selon "l'art nègre" de Pierre Meauré texte p. 94 - 95. fotos 77, 170 -171. Galerie Numaga 6'. / 89." The idealized portraits of the deceased in fired clay were made by women to whom the craft with ceramics was reserved. They were placed in separate groves in memory of ancestors and as a materialized link between this world and the next, where they were ceremonially venerated until no one could remember the sitter. This object has not been scientifically dated, but due to the style, weathering and provenance, it undoubtedly belongs to the corpus of comparative pieces dated to the 18th/19th century. Further reading: LaGamma, Alisa (2011). Heroes of Africa. Zurich: Museum Rietberg. CHF 400 / 800 EUR 400 / 800