FINE STAFF FINIAL
LIKELY EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA, C. LATE 19TH CENTURY
Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Auction: 13 March 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
carved wood and beadwork, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
39.6cm high
Provenance
Private collection, New York, acquired 1880
Kevin Conru, Brussels
Bernice and Terry Pethica, London
Published:
Klopper, Nettleton and Pethica, The Art of Southern Africa, The Terence Pethica Collection 2007, n° 112
Footnote
“This finial depicting a young, nubile girl presumably comes from a staff that once belonged to a chief or local leader. Her collar and apron are typical of the garments formerly worn by female initiates from this region in both the techniques employed to string the beads and their colour. Puberty rituals like those practised by Xhosa-speaking and other southern African communities played an important role affirming the continuity of the group by celebrating female fertility. As the robust carving of the figurine's legs suggest, the highly accomplished carver who produced this staff had a very sensitive understanding of indigenous notions of beauty, which favoured a firm but full-bodied image of ideal womanhood. His careful attention to balancing the sculptural forms of the figurine provides further evidence of his carving skills, as do the delicately carved facial features and the dome-like form of the head. Together, these details infuse the work with a remarkable, youthful vitality.” (Klopper, Nettleton and Pethica 2007).