Mwana Hiti Female Figure Tanzania Pearson Collection

The mwana hiti appeared as a freestanding figure or image incorporated in objects used in ceremonies and on other important occasions that marked the lives of the Zaramo and neighbouring peoples. Depending on the context, the mwana hiti carried sacred, status, magical, or religious properties founded on the authority of the ancestors.

From the Collection of Dr. Robert Pearson, Denver, Colorado

Dr. Bob Pearson began collecting African art later in his life. He was an engineer, inveterate climber, and long-time collector of books and paintings. Spurred by the Douglas Society at the Denver Museum of Art, and his friendship with noted collector George Heggarty, he began building an enormous, eclectic collection. His African art library grew to several hundred books. He loved textiles and “material culture”-things which had domestic use, like spoons, cups, stools, and chairs, as well as masks and carvings. His collection included items from more than thirty African countries, and his fine eye gave him pieces ranging from a golddust scale to huge Dogon figural ladders. Africa Direct is honored to have been chosen to sell them.