A standing figure with beaded necklace and missing legs. Nigeria, Mumuye. 20th century.28 1/2"h without stand.
Provenance: Inventory and Collection from the Estate of Merton D. Simpson.
Catalog Notes: "The Mumuye are probably an amalgam of seven originally separate peoples who retreated under pressure to the rocky hills south of the Benue River...few (works) were known before the 1960s and were usually misidentified as Chamba. The Chamba are southern neighbors of the Mumuye and were one of the invading groups that drove the ancestors of the present Mumuye to their present home...despite the large variety of sub-styles, all figures tend to be elongated, ranging in size from 20 to 160 cm. The legs are usually angular, and ribbon-like arms wrap around the torso with elbows clearly marked. The heads may display a coiffure in the form of a crest. Scarification on face and body is delineated and the nasal septum is perforated for the insertion of a short section of a stalk of Guinea corn. Both scarification and nasal septum ornamentation reflect local customs. A large number of such sculptures have large ears with pierced and distended earlobes for the insertion of plugs, a practice visible in some Jukun figures from neighboring areas. The Mumuye distinguish the gender of the figures on the basis of the shape of the ears; only Mumuye women distend their earlobes. In sculptures where secondary sex characteristics are absent or difficult to identify [as in the present work] this may be the only clue to determining the gender of a figure. The Mumuye occasionally used their figures for divination and healing, as did the north-western neighbors, the Montol and Goemai. Other figures, indistinguishable in form and style, reinforced the status of important elders, served as house guardians and/or were used to greet rainmakers' clients." (Phillips: 1995, pg. 362-3) For a similar object see Bonhams, San Francisco, "Fine African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian", May 5, 2015, lot 130.