Reference Prof. Herbert Cole: This Mumuye figure in the Ebinger collection is of fine quality. It is slender and columnar, with elongated limbs. The torso appears quite thin from the frontal view, with three rhythmically disposed massive and volumetric units: the head, shoulder saddle, and pelvic zone. From the side view one notes the rhythmic “notching” of arms and legs - rough indications of joints. This is typical of the “Mumuye aesthetic”. The “hooded” head, with long “ears” on either side, shows rather roughly carved facial features in a small face above a long neck. The arcing hood shape of the head is reiterated on a larger scale by the arms and shoulder saddle, and the verticals of ears and arms are echoed in the legs below, the space between which is a negative reflection of the torso above. This conception, a pleasing interplay of solid and void from the frontal view, lends quality and presence to this figure, and the somewhat irregular, angular rhythms of the side view also add to the artist’s success in our eyes. Probably carved for use in shrines belonging to male-led cults dealing with a lot of varied situations: divination (for example, fortune telling, the recovery of lost property, determining causes of misfortune, disease or death), protection (for example from drought or human enemies), human and agricultural fertility and productivity, and healing. It is impossible now to determine the exact function of any one figure, and their names too are lost. One can say, then, that these figures functioned, with supernatural help, to promote health, welfare, and prosperity.

Lit.:
Berns et al. 2011: 247–283.

Provenance:
Collection Jacques Kerchache.
Austrian private collection. (VJ)