This beautifully carved mother figure is made by the Kamba people in Kenya also called Akamba. The Kamba are skilled craftsmen and make both practical tools and beautiful artwork. They are well-known for their artistic abilities, especially in wood carving, basket making, and pottery. The Akamba people stem from the Central Bantu. They migrated from Tanzania in the 18th century. Today they inhabit eastern Kenya in the regions of the Mbooni Hills (the place of the buffalo), in the Ukamba highlands. Rare Kamba maternity statue. Figurative art objects from eastern Africa are only very occasionally found. Here, we see a woman kneeing and holding her child in her arms. 

The Kamba are close neighbors of the Sidamo, Guragé, Maasai and other groups from Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia.

 Kamba artists have made statuettes with realistic features. The limbs are often shortened, a large rounded head with large ears. The oldest Kamba figurines date from the end of World War I by a sculptor of Zaramo origin called Mutisya Mungé.