Tribal Art

Carried by thick lower limbs, the narrowness of the bust framed by rounded arms here accentuates the volume of the torso. The spherical head with large ears, wearing a rounded crest, shows an expression of stupor. Semi-matt mottled patina, abrasions and loss, desication cracks.
It was during healing rites, or even divination of the origins of illnesses, that this sculpture played a major role for members of male Komtin society. The stocky morphology of the Montol statues comes in broad shoulders, a narrow bust, thick and reduced legs. The head is generally spherical, the features sketchy. The Montols kept the sculptures for community use in the "dodos", thatched-roof huts decorated with trophy skulls, where they were used in worship following ritual libations. Works of this type would come from the neighboring Angas of the Montols on the plateau of Jos.