Mar 10, 2011 - Sale 2239

Sale 2239 - Lot 133

Unsold
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
A WEST-AFRICAN MADONNA (AFRICA--RELIGION.) PORTUGUESE, LOANDA. Madonna. Carved ivory figure, 7-1/8 inches (21cm) high, losely patina. Circa late 18th early 19th century
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Additional Details

a rare and exquisite ivory "madonna," carved from the tip of an elephant tusk, the "vein" apparent at the top of the figure's head and the base. Some traces of native red kaolin pigment remain inside the base. Figures like this were carved for the Portuguese Catholic merchants and sailors who visited the Western Coast of Africa in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Provenance: a private collection, obtained from the Merton Simpson Gallery.