251153 - Old African Yoruba statue - Nigeria.
Old African statue from the Yoruba, Nigeria.
Hand carved from a single piece of wood.
Size: 55 cm high.
This beautifully designed Yoruba sculpture was collected in 1969 by a France collector and is dated from the mid of the 20th century with a 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.