Tribal Art

Montol statue (N° 23012)

The design of this sculpture here suggests a dynamic, thanks to the lateral inclination of a powerful bust. The arms, extended by large hands, seem to draw the body forward as well. The expressive face, stretched under the cylindrical and flat headdress, offers discreet parallel marks. Clog feet support high legs in flexion.
Irregular crusty patina. Erosions concentrated at the top and on the internal area of ​​one foot. The Goemai, Tarok (who call their healing society Kwompten), and the Ngas of central Nigeria make use of similar, often more schematic statues.
It was during healing rites, or even divination of the origins of illnesses, that this sculpture played a major role for members of male Komtin society. The Montol, on the right bank of the Benué, preserved the sculptures for community use in the "dodos", thatched-roof huts decorated with trophy skulls, where they intervened in the cults following of ritual libations.