African Micronesia Primitive Hand Carved Wood Sculpture
Antique African Micronesia Primitive Ancestral Hand Carved Wood Sculpture Female Figure. Mid – 20th Century. Solid Wood. Beautiful dark patina & detail. Includes a tag saying it is from Micronesia. Measures 16.5 inches height x 5 inches depth x 4.5 inches width. Comes with a base .
USD$650. Verbally Appraised.
Striking in form, of light highly textured wood, this highly stylized anthropomorphic figure carved in West Africa. This form most probably was owned by a family or clan and played a vital role in assuring their collective well-being. In these societies, when ancestral offerings fail to provide an individual with desired relief, an earth oracle with an established reputation is consulted. These diviners prescribe similar figures to fortify their clients and improve their lives. Such works call forth positive ancestral influences, they are protective and promote health and prosperity on a range of different levels. The highly standardized design reduces the human figure to an elemental form. Minimal attention is given to facial features, with a reductive figure the upper body forms a unified, continuous surface, with its arms held at its sides along the length of the torso. Throughout the weathered surface, abrasion and splits reveal the effects wrought upon the work over time.
Micronesia; from Greek: μικρός mikrós “small” and Greek: νῆσος nêsos “island”) is a subregion of Oceania, composed of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with two other island regions: Polynesia to the east and Island Melanesia to the south; as well as the wider Austronesian peoples.
The region has a tropical marine climate and is part of the Oceania ecozone. There are four main archipelagos along with numerous outlying islands.
Micronesia is divided politically among several sovereign countries. One of these is the Federated States of Micronesia, which is often called “Micronesia” for short and is not to be confused with the overall region. The Micronesia region encompasses five sovereign, independent nations—the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Nauru—as well as three U.S. territories in the northern part: Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and Wake Island.
Micronesia began to be settled several millennia ago, although there are competing theories about the origin and arrival of the first settlers.[ The earliest known contact with Europeans occurred in 1521, when Spain reached the Marianas. The coinage of the term “Micronesia” is usually attributed to Jules Dumont d’Urville‘s usage in 1832; however, Domeny de Rienzi had used the term a year previously.