Nkisi stone - Sierra Leone

05
days
23
hours
40
minutes
03
seconds
Current bid
€ 30
Reserve price not met
Surya Rutten
Expert
Selected by Surya Rutten

Has over 25 years' experience in Asian art and owned an art gallery.

Estimate  € 750 - € 950
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€30
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€25

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Description from the seller

Over the past century, ancient stone carvings like this have surfaced in the fields of farmers in southern Sierra Leone. Little is known about the early history of this corpus of several thousand surviving sculptures. Referred to as nomoli (found spirit) or pomdo (the deceased) by their Mende and Kissi finders, respectively, these discoveries have been understood as wondrous points of connection to a distant past. Scientific analysis of related wood and ceramic figures dates this tradition back to as early as the tenth century C.E. The subjects depicted include seated figures, sculpted heads, and human-animal hybrids. This example is notable for its exceptional size. Art historian Frederick Lamp has hypothesized that such creations relate to royal or ancestral memorials commissioned by the Sapi, the name used by early Portuguese traders for the predecessors of today's Temne and Bullom communities.

Provenance: Jean-Michel Huguenin, Paris

Seller's Story

Experts in Ancient African Art
Translated by Google Translate

Over the past century, ancient stone carvings like this have surfaced in the fields of farmers in southern Sierra Leone. Little is known about the early history of this corpus of several thousand surviving sculptures. Referred to as nomoli (found spirit) or pomdo (the deceased) by their Mende and Kissi finders, respectively, these discoveries have been understood as wondrous points of connection to a distant past. Scientific analysis of related wood and ceramic figures dates this tradition back to as early as the tenth century C.E. The subjects depicted include seated figures, sculpted heads, and human-animal hybrids. This example is notable for its exceptional size. Art historian Frederick Lamp has hypothesized that such creations relate to royal or ancestral memorials commissioned by the Sapi, the name used by early Portuguese traders for the predecessors of today's Temne and Bullom communities.

Provenance: Jean-Michel Huguenin, Paris

Seller's Story

Experts in Ancient African Art
Translated by Google Translate

Details

Number of objects
1
Country of Origin
Sierra Leone
Material
stone
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Excellent condition
Title of artwork
Nkisi stone
Height
15 cm
Width
5 cm
Depth
7 cm
Authenticity
Original/official
SpainVerified
315
Objects sold
100%
pro

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