Funeral statuette

Small and curious mambila stone destined without doubt to a funerary use given the configuration of the piece. He is a character folded with his hands under his chin in imploratory actud. The face is carved on the top of the head, formed by a flat surface. The size is extremely simple, which suggests that it has been carved by some member of the family or friend to honor an ancestor, as is the case in other ethnic groups. The piece has received several strokes, with all probability of hoeing as it tills the earth. One of the most frequent altars in many villages in Africa is a small amount of land in a sacred area not far from the village. These altars received sacrifices and offerings dedicated to ancestors. Often statuettes or exvotos were doposita. The passage of time and the passage of generations makes these areas become banal territories or grow lands, as seems to be the case. Very old patina although it is difficult to offer a dating of the piece without a thermoluminescence test.