A human figurine on a stand made of carved reddish-brown wood, its head stretched out lengthwise. Two triangles, their tips pointing toward each other, face each other on the forehead. Two vertical ears stand out on the head. The seeds of a small reddish-black fruit are placed in the eye sockets. At the back of the head is a vertical rectangular plaque that likely represents hair or a train. The figurine's hands are raised in front of the body. A tail shaped like an ox horn is attached to the figurine's back. see less These two figurines represent a bibolono human-animal hybrid. According to the donor's information, this is a very rare representation of bird-men. This is suggested by the feet and legs, as well as the feather-like fingers. The composition of the faces resembles masks. The only indication of the figurines' gender is the beard of one of the figurines. The pupils are made of seeds from the abrus tree, also known as the rosary tree (abrus precatorius), which is often used to adorn jewelry in their tropical homeland. A kind of tail attached to the back of the figurines could refer to their bird-like appearance or to mohara, an ox horn filled with powerful substances. These two figurines were carved by a Sakalava artist from the town of Maintirano on the west coast of Madagascar. The Sakalavas make their living from cattle breeding; at the beginning of the 21st century, they constituted only 6% of the Malagasy population. In the past, the Sakalavas represented the majority of the population. Furthermore, the royal family came from their community. The function of these figurines is unclear. They may be linked to the funerary cult: for their deceased, the Sakalavas build tombs surrounded by wood, on which stand wooden sculptures representing birds and human beings (often in sexual poses). In a state of trance, the Sakalavas create a link with the spirits of the ancestors in a ceremony called tromba important as you imagine for perfect shipping : )))) shipping costs include the fact that the large very strong package will perfectly protect the item in micro polystyrene beads so as not to break anything during transport no combine shipping