A bone sculpture - Legba - Togo (No reserve price)

Legba-Venavi Bone Figurines - Aklakou, Aného Region, Togo Two small, upright figures rise from a shared, elongated rectangular base. Their bodies are reduced to elementary geometric forms: angular heads with only suggested facial features, narrow shoulders, arms held close to the body, and squat legs. Both figures wear cords with small, ring-shaped pendants, wound several times around their necks. The front of the base is divided by incised rectangular panels and a central herringbone pattern. A light-colored surface, encrusted with a whitish crust in places, covers the ensemble, blurring the boundaries between material, workmanship, and signs of use. The slight tilt of the heads lends the two figures a quiet, almost dialogical presence. The area around Aného and Aklakou in southeastern Togo is part of a cultural borderland where Ewe, Adja, and related Vodun traditions intertwine. Figures called Venavi commemorate deceased twins and preserve their presence in family life. Legba, on the other hand, is a spiritual power associated with transitions, protection, and mediation. The unusual combination of these two terms, as well as the bone material used, precludes a clear ritual classification of the ensemble without further information about its origin. Literature (selection): Suzanne Preston Blier: African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago 1995. Albert de Surgy: Le système religieux des Evhé. Paris 1988. Hans Scheutz: Die Zwillingsfiguren der Ewe (Venavi-Figuren). 2022. Some of the information and photos are generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history documents. All information and photos are protected by copyright. Inv. No. MAZ30279 Informant: Batoure

Estimation:€150

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