Sukuma Figure Tanzania Rohner Collection

Figure with a red glass bead eye.

Carved figures such as this from Tanzania pose problems of identity and must be generally assigned to a number of different people including the Sukuma, Chaga, Kwere or Chamba/ Shamba. It must be remembered that this area of Africa does not have the great variety or numbers of sculpture and masks as found in West Africa. Though the ethnic diversity in the region is complex that they often share sculptural styles and forms.  It is also the case that they have been not well studied to fully define the use and function of sculptures and masks among East African groups. Figures such as this are used during initiations and by traditional practitioners of healing rituals. They also are said to be commemorate an ancestor.

Provenance: John R. Rohner Collection
Rohner, a museum curator for decades, aimed his practiced eye for authenticity to African art beginning in the early 1908s. His passion for this art only grew through the decades he built his collection––always with an aim for a broad and representative array of pieces. The collection appears in his book, Art Treasures from African Runners (2000, University Press of Colorado). 

Item #669 on pg. 246

Height (in): 10.0
Width (in): 3.0
Depth (in): 2.75

157302