Chamba Ancestor Figure, Middle Benue River Valley, Nigeria

Dodie Rosekrans, San Francisco
Sotheby's, New York, Property from the Collection of Dodie Rosekrans, December 8, 2011, lot 124
Myron Kunin, Minneapolis, acquired at the above auction

Very good condition for an object of this type and age. Minor marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions and small chips consistent with age and use. Stable age cracks throughout, including to proper left side of coiffure and proper left side of the face. Bottoms of the feet are eroded. Exceptionally fine aged, encrusted patina with some remains of natural red and dark brown pigment. Mounted permanently on square wood base with a pin embedded in the proper left foot, the underside of the base bearing a sticker inscribed "Chamba JC889 98".
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.

Similar to their Mumuye and Jukun neighbours, the Chamba venerate anthropomorphic statues of male and female gender. As Fardon (in Berns, Fardon and Kasfir 2011: 231) explains, figural "sculptures were highly versatile instruments in the Middle Benue. They might stand in particular for ancestors, or for a collectivity of the dead (ranging from those of a specific kin grouping to the dead generally), or for dangerous spirits that were taken to be human-like in appearance. In different contexts, the same anthropomorphic figure might evoke some or all of these types of being, and it might do so differently for participants, for onlookers, and for those excluded except by hearsay, who enjoyed more or less insight into what was taking place. To make the same point negatively, nothing we know about Middle Benue figures suggests that their unmodified formal properties specially suited them to one type of ritual use rather than another." And he continues (ibid.: 233): "Aside from occasional, slight differences in size, Middle Benue male and female sculptures are similar, differentiated by features of the head (particularly coiffure, earrings, or headgear, which are treated as secondary gendered characteristics) [...].

Within the overall schematic style of Chamba statuary, the Kunin statuette is distinguished by its overall elegant proportions, the curvature of the body, the contraction of the elbows at the figure's back and the expressiveness of the face. Stylistically it can be compared to some figures with early collecting history, including a figure in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Dresden (inv. no. "24065") which was collected by Johannes Rothe in 1907 and another figure in the Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin (inv. no. "III C19025") which was collected in 1903 by Hans Glauning in Cameroon. Both figures were published by Fardon (loc. cit.: 242 and 244, figs. 8.11 and 8.13).