Sophie Goedefroit has kindly informed us that this figure was almost certainly carved by Maneraky, who died in the 1950s and was the son of the renowned carver, Horatsky, who founded the prolific workshop in the village of Kivalo and died in 1910. The Kivalo workshop made sculptures for tombs across the region north of Morondava. The chest, arms, facial features and the relatively small scale are typical of Maneraky‘s style. A photograph taken by Nicole Boulfroy in the Ankirijibe cemetary (north of Morondava) in November 1970 (Musée de l'Homme BF-72-1042-780) shows a very similar figure. It seems likely that this figure was carved by Maneraky for the cemetry at Ankirijibe. The figure was removed some time between 1970 and 1992. It is almost certainly carved in hazomalany wood ("Hernandia voyronii"). For a discussion of Horatsy and the Kivalo workshop see Goedefroit, S. and Lombard, J., ‘To the Glory of the Ancestors‘ in "Arts & Cultures", Geneva, 2008, pp.136-153.. Prívate collection belgium