22 - Ancestral bust

Ancestral bust with a wild presence. Wood coated with white clay. Dolpo region, northwestern Nepal. H. 105 × W. 24 × D. 17 cm. Provenance: Former collection of Jean-Luc Cortès Publication: Himalayas - Éric Chazot, Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert - Éditions LMDD, 2011 - Volume 2, No. 90. Exhibition: - Espace Durand-Dessert, September 4, 2010, to July 31, 2011. In Dolpo, these protective effigies were placed within the domestic sphere, at the threshold of the house or in its ritual space. The furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, and open mouth revealing the teeth combine to form a face of fierce, almost archaic intensity. This tension between roughness and control lends the figure a powerful expressiveness, intended to ward off malevolent influences.