Page 52 - Studio International - July August 1971

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Three early African sculptures

Three pieces of African sculpture shown recently at
the Alexander Martin Gallery, London: (t) Jukun
wood ancestor figure, Nigeria, 6t cm. The Jukun were
a highly organized tribe with an elaborate system of
chiefs stemming from a divine king, the Aku of
Wukari. This king was considered to be so highly
charged with Life Force that his feet could not touch
the ground for fear of damaging the crops. Every
seven years he was strangled and his successor was
obliged to eat his brain, kidneys and heart.
(2) Terracotta figure, Lower Bani, Mali 27 cm—
comparable in age to Nok figures, i.e. 1st Century BC
to 1st Century An. (3) Senufo rhythm pounder,
Ivory Coast, 98 cm—used by members of the Lo
society, a male society concerned with religion,
mythology and ancestral history. The stampers, or
Déblé, were held by the young initiates by the arms
and pounded on the ground, to the accompaniment
of drums, gourd rattles and wooden trumpets.

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