code: 2018-MB

a genuine old African, carved wooden figure, known as:

Biiga

made for, carried and nourished by the women of the

Mossi People

refered to as: Mossi Biiga Doll

we see a figure carved in a schematic way, in the Kaya style, the Northeastern Mossi country

we see a small antropomorphic figure, no arms, no legs, with stretched breasts / peebo, as a desirable symbol of motherhood, incised lines to the face, front and back of the neck, breasts, chest and stomach, representig scarifications worn only by women, the head is a semi circle with a flat downside, with a stylized female coiffure with a knot/wisp of hair in front of her ears, the hair-do even covers her eyes, and simple facial features: pin-holes for nostrils, a slit as mouth, in each ear a pin-hole with a metal earring, each breast has a pin-hole as nipple, there is a pinhole at the spot of the belly-button, a slightly larger hole at her throat

this one seems to have been used for votive purpose, to call for a child - these type of dolls were used for play and magic, it is possible to distinguish two types: some very much handled with less care, mostly with gray surfaces, were used by little girls as toy, others, with glossy, more dark and smooth surfaces, were carried  by women as aids for conception, the women would have lavished attention to it.

although these figures are called Biiga, meaning Child, the appearance is always with the charateristics of an adult woman, with mature female breasts, representing the fulfillment of motherhood, the carved patterns on the body represent scarifications, that traditionally mark the passage to adulthood

we date this object as early 20th century, or older, based on the way it truely seems to have been handled / nourished, the smoothness and the genuine patina

provenance:

the private collection of the Mr. Jaap Harten (Dutch, 1930-2017) and Mr. Oskar Lens (Dutch, 1930-2017)

The Hague, The Netherlands.

condition: authentic signs of age and handling, genuine old patina, smooth surface and edges, firm, no worm/bug holes

we did not clean or polish it

the custom made stand is of a more recent date and is stable

height (excl. stand): circa 24 cm / 9.4 inch

weight circa 205 gram

we are no experts on the subject of tribal art, but with more than 40 years of experience as our guide, we have done some research, trying to attribute this object to a land, country, tribe or people, to the best we could - do judge for yourself the tribal affilation and the correct age - we are selling this item "as is" and we will not accept returns if the buyer finds that we are wrong concerning these matters.

we will list an other antique African Mossi Biiga Doll with the same provenance