RARE YORUBA (WEST AFRICA) SPIRITUAL FIGURE

Modeled as a revered ancestor. 10 1/4" height, quite similar to the Ibeji twin figures most usually associated with the Yoruba, this figure stands holding a gourd "container." Gourd containers were used for mystical/spiritual substances ("potions") and their representations are marks of "great power." In that capacity, they are incorporated into masks, in groups along the fore head and the number of gourds is a measure of the power of the mask and by extension, its wearer. This figure was carved by a professional carver whose main function would have been the production of Ibeji figures for the mothers of twins, to which the Yoruba were particularly prone. The style of hair and face are distinctive to particular villages to which these figures may be attributed. The remnants of Reckitt's Blue as seen here, is deemed to be an indication of a pre-1900 example.