Puissante statue , Keaka, Région de la Cross River, Cameroun/Nigeria

Maria Wyss, Bâle, fin des années 1970

Good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture.
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La dimension - rare - contribue à la remarquable puissance exprimée par la sculpture. Les volumes compacts - jambes fermement ancrées dans le sol, tête rentrée dans les épaules - s'articulent en une juxtaposition de formes dont l'esquisse anguleuse exalte la force. S'ajoute la patine profonde et croûteuse, accentuant l'archaïsme de l'œuvre.

La statuaire des Keaka - peuple du sud-est de la Cross River, dans la région de la rivière Donga, à la frontière du Nigeria et du Cameroun - est relativement rare et peu documentée. Elle constitue un style de transition entre l'art des Chamba et celui des Mumuye. Selon Zeitlyn (in RMN, 1997 ; 230 – 231) ces statues sont vraisemblablement liées à des pratiques rituelles d'ordre thérapeutique.

A powerful Keaka figure, Cross River Region, Cameroon

The rare size of this work adds to its remarkable sculptural power. The compact volumes, with the legs firmly anchored to the ground and the head sunk into the shoulders are juxtaposed in an angular outline which amplifies the power of the figure. The deep and encrusted patina accentuates the work's archaic character.

The statuary of the Keaka people, who live to the south-east of the Cross-River region on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, is relatively rare and little documented. It constitutes a transitional stlye between the art of the Chamba and the Mumuye. According to Zeitlym (in RMN, 1997: 230-231) in all probability these figures were used for therapeutic ritual purposes.