This is the rating and price for Koro Figure, 2003.0

Description : Koro Figure Nigeria The Koro people settled in Nigeria, north of the junction of the Niger and Benue Rivers. They carve abstract headdresses embellished with red seeds, which are thought to symbolize ancestor spirits and are used during agricultural rites and important social or family events. A columnar form, highly abstracted figure with breasts, the bottom part is a zoomorphic figure that seems to depict a bird with wings, which could be also seen as the arms of the figure. The head has well-defined features. This visually inventive sculpture brilliantly illustrates one of the least known corpora in the world of African art. Although it unmistakably comes from a region between the Middle Benue and the Cross Rivers, it is attributed ― depending on the source ― either to the Gwari people or to the Koro sculptors. In the typology established by Antonio Casanovas and Ana Gaspar, two distinct styles particularly stand out and are considered archaic. One is the “cylindrical style,” exemplified in particular by the statue in the National Museum of Lagos (Inv. No. 721.1246H, cf. Phillips, Africa. The Art of the Continent, p. 26, No. 5). Known as okuli, these figures, tapering into a cylindrical base, were used to ritually pound the ground during great ceremonies. The second is the “cylindrical style with separate legs,” called obakuli, with this piece being one of its rare specimens. The formal affinities these works share with the Mumuye statuary are strengthened by a likely common prophylactic purpose. Kept away from view, they received regular offerings to protect their owners and were exhibited only when important guests arrived (Conde Prado, Joyas del Niger y del Benue, 2003, p. 88). Here, the talent of the artist is evident in the spectacular reinvention of the human figure. The boldness of the lithe structure is echoed in the purity of the sculptural gesture, which only details the features of the face and the feminine attributes and comes to life in the nuances of the deep patina. The contrast between the modernity of the design and the delicacy of its elaboration, particularly visible in the refined articulation of the knees, reveals a powerful artistic expression capable of surpassing traditional canons to achieve a universal aesthetic. H: 114 cm (approx. 3’ 9”) Estimated age: End of the 19th century or early 20th century Provenance: German private collection
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