240749 - Old African Yoruba statue - Nigeria.
Old African statue from the Yoruba, Nigeria.
Hand carved from a single piece of wood.
Size: 21 cm high.
This beautifully designed Yoruba sculpture was collected in 1969 by a France collector and is from the second half of the 20th century with an certificate of authenticity.
In Yoruba culture, figurative sculptures draw and concretize the threshold between the world of the living and that of the dead. At shrines, a series of wooden sculptures depicting a male figure flanked by a courtly entourage of women, servants and attendants were displayed, serving to honor and commemorate the memory of important individuals.
These images are part of a range of art forms that provided access to influential ancestors and were also valued for their aesthetic excellence.