Kissi fetish, Sierra Leone Wood, fabric, vegetable... Lot 160

Kissi fetish, Sierra Leone Wood, fabric, vegetable fiber, teeth, bone, beads H. 45 cm Provenance : Paul and Jacqueline Canfère Collection acquired from Jean-Michel Huguenin (according to oral information from descendants). In parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia, small figures such as this one have been found among the local populations of Kissi and Mende. Little is known about the creators of these sculptures, which are interpreted by their discoverers as having magical properties. According to Tagliaferri and Hammacher (1974: 12), "The Kissi claim that the sculptures represent their ancestors; they call the type of stone they find pomdo (or pyomdo, in the western regions), that is, the dead. According to the Kissi, the discovery of a pomdo shows that an ancestor communicates with his descendants: the identity of the ancestor is established by divination, and then the sculpture is placed in the shrine of the descendants and used for oath-taking and divination ceremonies." In a study of the Kissi, Denise Paulme explains that sometimes, as evidenced by the present example, "the stone is concealed in a specially designed wooden carving that consists of a roughly carved trunk with a carved niche for the pompadour itself, topped by a head and draped in a loose poncho robe. In fact, although the Kissi are not generally considered to be traditionally wood carvers, wooden figures - some of excellent craftsmanship - were carved by them, and the wooden protector mentioned above is an example." (Paulme 1956: 146) Of rare and uncommon appearance, this beautiful example is animated by a powerful presence of expressive strength of its marked features, and of elegance through the richness of its ornaments (pearls, fabrics, teeth, bells, plant fibers, cloths...). The face with its thick lips, its wide and blunt nose, its eyes in relief in finely incised almonds, sublimated by a beautiful crested headdress formed by an inverted crescent moon and rows of stripes on its two sides, and intensified by a deep black patina attesting to the anointings received.