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THBEarly 20th C. Chokwe Wood Nude Female Spirit Figure
Lot 68c
About Seller
Artemis Fine Arts
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$1,000 - $1,800
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Fine Arts
Aug 22, 2025
Set Reminder
2025-08-22 10:00:00
2025-08-22 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Indigenous Art - Ralph T. Coe Center, Santa Fe, NM
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/indigenous-art---ralph-t-coe-center-santa-fe-nm-20324
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
View Full Catalog (452)
- Lot Description
Central Africa, Angola, Tchokwe or Chokwe, ca. 1920 CE. A finely carved Chokwe wood figure of a nude female, depicted seated in a compact squat with elbows resting upon her knees and hands cradling her head. This distinctive pose is deeply embedded in the artistic vocabulary of the Chokwe and related peoples of Angola and the Congo basin. It is associated with ancestral spirits and appears across a range of sculptural forms including stools, chairs, and small altar figures. Among the Chokwe, this posture evokes the presence of elders, individuals lost in deep contemplation, and the traditional burial position of chiefs and esteemed community members. Such figures, often referred to as "charms," were sometimes carved in likeness of the deceased and employed in divinatory or ritual contexts, serving as intermediaries between the living and the ancestral realm. Size: 2.7" Diameter x 6.9" H (6.9 cm x 17.5 cm); 7.8" H (19.8 cm) on included custom stand.
Rendered with elegant elongation of the limbs, the sculpture features a serene, introspective facial expression framed by incised coiffure patterns and striated details along the body and headdress. The strong geometric articulation of the knees, elbows, and hands emphasizes the contemplative stillness of the pose, while the figure's nudity underlines her symbolic connection to origins, fertility, and the continuity of life within Chokwe cosmology.
Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, acquired via descent in 2010; ex-private collection of Ralph T. Coe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; ex-Taylor Dale Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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#196112Adhered to custom stand. Area of chipping to integral base and some small nicks and stable hairline fissures throughout. Old black pigment to chest. Otherwise, intact and very nice with impressive remaining detail.Condition
- Shipping Info
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