Unidentified

Standing Chief Holding Thumb Piano (sansa) with Ancestral Figure

circa 1945-1950

Category
Culture
Chokwe: School of Muzamba
Place Made
Angola
Materials
Wood
Measurements
14 1/2 x 4 in (36.83 x 10.16 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds from an anonymous donor
Location
Sadie and Oliver Billion Gallery, African Art; Wall Case 7
Accession #
2005.16
Description

Carved wooden sculpture depicting a male figure wearing chief's crown and holding a thumb piano in front of body. Figure is smoothly carved with slightly bent knees, arms bent upwards at elbow, hands holding instrument with widely spread fingers, wide feet creating the base, and elongated features. A dwarfed second carved figure stands against the chief's left bent leg, representing an ancestor figure that would protect the hunter chief. The sculpture stands on a Inagaki wooden base.