West Africa, Northwest Togo, Moba people, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A fantastic and abstract wood rendering of a slender protective figure known as tchitcheri. The person is highly stylized and carved from a singular piece of wood with two pointed and delineated legs and simple stick-like arms. The slender body thickens at the neck and supports the bulbous head. Although a simple interpretation of the human form, this figure is a powerful guardian! These tchitcheri represent ancestor spirits that would protect and guide the family. It was believed that the spirits within the carvings were so powerful, that only diviners could safely create these figures, as those who attempted to make tchitcheri without protective magic risked insanity or blindness! The size of such figures determined their uses; larger figures, such as this example, were usually part of household shrines. Size: 4.5" W x 22" H (11.4 cm x 55.9 cm); 23.5" H (59.7 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, purchased from Rand Tribal, Denver, Colorado, USA in 2014

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#162906

Losses as shown to legs, additional losses to tips of arms. Surface abrasions, nicks, chips, stable cracks. Splintering and fissures to tips of all limbs. Great signs of weathering and age.