Mambila Tadep figure, Cameroon
Wood, metal, pigment (black, red, white)
26" tall
This object is being sold on consignment from a private collection
SOLD
"Such figures are commonly described as ancestor figures, a description which is challenged. The gesture of the left hand or both
hands to chin in Mambila sculpture is characteristic of tadep figures connected with a healing association called Suaga. The ritual
paraphernalia were kept in granary-like storehouses adorned with painted screens (baltu). Two types of carved anthropomorphic
figure were displayed in front of the storehouse: kike made from raffia palm pith, and tadep carved from wood. Both types were often
made as a male-female pair and usually painted with black, red and white pigments. The style of the former is generally more
abstracted than that of the latter. Larger tadep were also kept inside the storehouses. Although the Suaga complex remains central to
the religious system of the Mambila, most figures and masks have been removed owing to their popularity among Western art
collectors." Source: Keith Nicklin - Africa The Art of a Continent
Despite its appearance, I believe that this wonderfully expressive and nicely carved figure was made specifically for the collecting market.
That said, of the Tadep figures I've come across, this is definitely one of my favorites.
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