Mumuye Figure, Nigeria

Galerie Flak, Paris

French Private Collection, acquired from the above in 2009

Galerie Flak and François Neyt (text), Mumuye. Art of the Mumuye People of Nigeria, Paris, 2006, fig. 6, pp. 100 and 101

Mumuye statues were used for divination, healing or combating drought. Varying in size, these sculptures show remarkable formal diversity, with countless variations exploring the dynamic interplay between angular complexity and the space that surrounds them.

A slender sculpture of the classical type within the Mumuye corpus, featuring an elongated silhouette, a narrow torso, limbs detached from the body, and a geometric treatment of volumes. This marked verticality and sparing use of form are consistent with the canons identified in Mumuye figures from central-eastern Nigeria.

Its fine sculptural qualities, combined with its vivid expression, make it an outstanding exemplar of Mumuye art.