The William W. Brill Collection of African Art

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Lot 49
  • 49

Two Mossi dolls

Estimate
1,500 - 2,500 USD
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Description

each of similar abstract form, the cylindrical bodies with pendant breasts leading to long neck and helmet-shaped heads; '757' on the base of the largest; blackened patina.

Provenance

Acquired from William Wright, New York, December 13, 1978 (the larger of the two)

Catalogue Note

See Kan, ed. 1995: 53 for a group of five Mossi dolls in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, also acquired from William Wright. Minimal in form, the dolls embody the essence of Mossi female beauty, and served as both secular children's playthings and more spiritual, fertility objects.