wood, paint, rest. (male figure)

These two figures are particularly captivating because of their beautiful faces and elaborate hairstyles. The female figure is adorned with scarification marks and carved with a bracelet that is whitened, probably to suggest ivory. The male figure is unadorned but is accompanied by a quadruped (dog). The posture of the figures is rather static, but their body shapes are well rounded and harmoniously proportioned.

A seated pair of figures by the same artist, from the collection of Joe Hloucha, Prague, was offered in 1930, at the first auction of African and Oceanic art in Germany, at the Internationales Kunst- und Auktionshaus, Berlin (published in Schädler, 1992, p. 90, ill. 59).
H: 68 cm / 70 cm (female / male), H: 26,8 inch / 27,6 inch

Provenance:
French Collection, Alsace (before World War I)

Lit.: Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Götter - Geister - Ahnen, München 1992, p. 90, ill. 59
Bottiaux, Anne-Marie, Guro, Milan 2016, p. 51 f.
Continent: Africa

See description