Female Ancestral Tiv Figure

This finely carved ancestral figure depicts a female guardian with cat-whiskered facial scarification standing atop her own carved base, denoting elevated status. The figure’s shiny and textured patina, stylized facial features, rich brown wood, one-sided hairstyle, slender back and protruding torso further indicate the well-being of this personage and her associated powers. Perhaps she is a fertility symbol, as Tiv statuary depicting “tutelary deities” was admired for “the protection and prosperity they provided agricultural lands and families, especially regarding marriage and human fertility,” writes Herbert Cole in Invention and Tradition: the Art of Southeastern Nigeria.

14.5″

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