Madagascar, Sakalava statue

Madagascar
Sakalava statue
COA provided

60 x 13 Cm / 2,000 Kg
Wood
Base included

The most renowned Malagasy artworks are the funerary statues related to funeral rites. The Mahafaly statues make one with the aloalo pillars, the fragments of panels on top of the heads testify it, whereas the Sakalava ancestor figures, in the round, represent most frequently the deceased and its opposite sex compagnon. The north-east of the tomb, sacred position associated to sunrise, the resurrection, also the ideal moment for circumcision, was considered by the Malagasy as the best place to put the statue of the deceased. The south-west of the tomb, on the other hand, was where the image of his opposite sex partner would be place, symbolizing an ideal union.

This ancestor figure is represented in the nude; the arms that seem absent are against its straight bust. The face's shapes were very much abraded by the elements. The wind, the salt and the sand contributed to furrow, and chap these figures, giving the wood this characteristic desiccation, rendering an exceptional matt patina. According to some writers, the Vezo fishermen of the south side made similar sculptures.