Superb African wooden statue from the Mambila ethnic group in Cameroon

Height: 56 cm, missing parts particularly at the level of the legs, probably due to "storage" on beaten earth

The Mambila people

The Mambila, who live from agriculture and livestock, occupy a territory that extends partly to the south-east of Nigeria and especially to the north-west of Cameroon, on the Mambila plateau. Their "high-up" habitat has not protected them from Fulani incursions and slave trafficking, which means that their numbers remain low today: a few tens of thousands...

Mambila art

The Mambila are known for their helmet masks in the shape of human heads, dog heads or magpies, masks worn by dancers celebrating the end of the sowing season.

They are especially known for their statuettes recognizable by their heart-shaped faces and stocky silhouettes supposed to personify the ancestors who, according to Mambila beliefs, are responsible for the prosperity of the tribe. These sculptures, standing on short bent legs, show a large head whose face can be surrounded by hair made of wooden tenons.

The Mambila statue

Like most Mambila statues, this one breaks free from natural anatomical proportions to highlight the most important parts of the body: The head, the seat of thought and especially the belly, considered the seat of the vital force that guarantees the continuity of the community.

Its massive and powerful proportions are further reinforced by the reduced size of its legs