ANTIQUE STONE SCULPTURE ANCESTRAL SPIRIT KISSI SIERRA LEONE W. AFRICA 17TH C.

Description: Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 GJPaw Auctions is pleased to offer a rare figurative stone sculpture, from the Kissi People, Sierra Leone, West Africa. Many people have heard stories about farmers discovering artifacts in their fields. This takes place all over the world. In America, they find shell casings from the Civil War and Indian arrowheads. In Europe, a stash of Roman gold was recently unearthed. In South America, it’s pre-Columbian pottery. Relics of the past work their way into the present for those who look hard enough or are just plain lucky. Some of the luckiest are members of the Kissi tribe (pronounced kee-see) in Sierra Leone, West Africa. There, small stone statues also known as Kissi, may surface as farmers manually hoe fields. Featured is a 400 year old statue. It’s generally believed to represent an ancestral spirit, a mediator between the living and the divine. Another school of thought suggests it represents a spirit governing crops, an effigy placed in a shrine to insure a good harvest. Still another suggests it was used to keep evil spirits away. It’s impossible to say exactly why this statue was created. Centuries ago ancestor worship was common among the Kissi, statues were regularly presented with offerings by village headmen, and all sorts of devices were used to ward off witchcraft and counteract malevolent spirits. This superb and highly characteristic example measures 2 inches in width by 3 inches in depth by 5.5 inches in height (5.08 cm by 7.62 cm by 13.9 cm). It shows wear consistent with an age of several hundred years, including small scrapes, chips, rubbing and tiny cracks that are a normal part of the patina. Importantly, it is an intact original piece and comes with a specially designed, hand-made stand for display. Guaranteed authentic, it would make a fine collector’s piece for anyone involved in African art. GJPaw Auctions has been in the Art business for over 25 years and is now expanding its operation to eBay. Our goal is to bring the same experience and excitement of collecting that we have been delivering in-person to collectors across the globe at Primitive in Chicago. Every object we sell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attention to detail, quality, and significance. We ship worldwide. Add GJPaw to Sellers you Follow and please take a moment to look at our other auction items. A1200-300

Price: 2950 USD

Location: Chicago, Illinois

End Time: 2023-12-25T20:21:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD