Female Ancestral Figure

The custom carving of female figures of this type were usually or frequently executed for a wealthy patron. The figure often idealized or symbolized a portrait figure of the wife of the commissioning patron. These types of figures were considered a prestige item, and the owners would have charged fees to visitors who wished to view the statue; thus the carving was only displayed during important occasions.

The figure depicts a female adolescent, girl or woman with tribal body scarifications wearing a quadrangular shaped facial mask. The meaning of the carved facial mask is accentuated by the white clay used around the eyes, which relates to the Wee and Dan customs where women applied white kaolin or clay around their eyes for ceremonies. This was symbolic of their contact with the spirits and constitutes a pledge of good faith and praise.

The coiffure is typical of the We and Dan women, with several braids or plaits hanging over the forehead of the figure. There are several Dan or We masks that depict similar facial features, such as the ones shown on this figure. One such mask is the Zakpai, which has a quadrangular shaped red cloth over the eyes of the mask, and another mask called Deangle, which depicts white painted quadrangular features over the eyes of the mask.

Provenance: The first known American collector was the renowned collector of Lawrence P. Kolton and Rachel Angotti of Michigan City, Indiana, between the years of 1969 and 1979.