Wurkum Statue, Nigeria

Statue representing a standing figure. The bust and neck are cylindrical, the arms and hands form an oval around the belly and the head is surmounted by a sagittal crest. The wood is coated with white pigment and some red and blue paint remains. On one side at the top of the head there is a hole with glued feathers around it. Perhaps we have here the remains of an ancient sacrificial cavity. Note also slight remains of feathers at the hands of the statue. These statues had a protective function (hearth, fields...). The style is raw and geometric and there emerges from this character a certain power supposed to frighten away evil spirits.
They were placed on the ground and that is why the base is eroded.
Wood with traces of use and marks of time, pigments
Wurkum people, Nigeria Mid 20th century
H: 53 cm