MUMUYE FIGURE Nigeria Wood H.103cm Provenance : Ancienne collection Jean-Luc Herman (Paris, France) NOTE The elegance of this narrow, elongated torso embodies a sense of formal dynamism through slight bilateral asymmetry. In Nigeria's Benue River Valley region, such representations are associated with various functions, including reinforcing the status of male elders and aiding healers and diviners in making diagnoses. The flexible nature of tradition is evident in the fact that a single figure can fulfil multiple roles.

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