A Kamba Male Power Figure, Kenya

standing on parted legs, the male figure with broad shoulders and long arms, with rich body scarification, cloth tied around the waist, and tin attachments on buttocks, head and right side of the chest; exceptionally fine medium brown patina.

Peter Loebarth, Hameln
Sulaiman Diane, New York
Fred Jahn, Munich

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Africa: The Art of a Continent, October 4, 1995 - January 21, 1996 (for additional venues see bibliography, Phillips 1995)
Iowa City, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection, March 27 - May 23, 1999 (for additional venues see bibliography, Roy 1997)

Tom Phillips (ed.), Africa: The Art of a Continent, Munich, 1995, p. 143, fig. 2.25
Christopher D. Roy, Kilengi: African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection, Seattle, 1997, pp. 55 and 319, fig. 1
--, Kilengi. Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, Hanover, 1997, pp. 59 and 323, fig. 1
Christopher D. Roy, "African Art from the Bareiss Collection", African Arts, Summer 1999, vol.  XXXII, no. 2, p. 53, fig. 1

very good condition overall; losses to left foot, chips to right foot, both hands, (right heel, left thumb, right forefinger) and edges of ears; exceptionally fine medium brown patina.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Roy (1997: 319,  text to fig. 1) notes: "As is common in the region, this figure may have belonged to a magical practitioner, called mundu mue (pl. mundu aue), whose powers are used to benefit society, or the mundu mwoi, whose powers are used for evil purposes. A Man, or, more rarely a woman, becomes "mundu mue" because he is chosen by the ancestor spirits. His future may be apparent at birth (such a child is born with some appendage or perhaps a small peg clasped in his fist) or a child of normal birth may have a solitary disposition and have dreams of the ancestors. All knowledge of magical materials and techniques is derived from this source [...] (Middleton 1953: 94-95). This very beautiful little figure [...] wears elaborate patterns of body decoration, as well as a curious metal badge or decoration over the right breast, The scars or tattoos that curve from the corners of the mouth across the cheeks are particularly heavy and carefully carved. The elaborate details of costume and scarification reflect ancient practices. [...] Zachary Kingdon writes at length about this figure [the present lot] which is very similar to a female figure in the British Museum collected in 1933, in Africa: The Art of a Continenet (p. 143): This figure depicts a Kamba man engraved with typical scarification marks of the early colonial period. In its stocky frame and straight legs it bears some resemblance to the form of early wooden figures used in connection with the ancestor cult... Finely carved figures such as this probably ceased being made after World War II when demand for Kamba carvings from overseas buyers began to outstrip the carvers' capacity for production, thus encouraging them to organize themselves into an efficient handicraft industry geared to fulfilling bulk orders for simpler, standardized figures."