Statue

Female figure (Anjenu? Ekwotame?) from the Idoma people of Nigeria. “Female figure (Anjenu? Ekwotame?). [...] The structure is airy and masterful in its refined symmetries and in the carefully calculated inclusion of space between the torso and the expressively simplified limbs; the repeated curves of the hips and bottle-shaped shoulders, together with the harmonious correspondence of the ring-like volumes, prepare the viewer for the beautiful head with its synthesized features [...]. The space extends smooth and unnatural between the broad nose and the arched line of the mouth” (quoted from E. Bassani [ed.], Arte dell'Africa Nera, Florence–Milan, Skira, 2000). The work is part of the Bassani Collection (inv. AFR 00051 2513A).

Photo: Paolo Vandrasch, Milano; Giuliano Spagnul, Milano; Vivi Papi, Varese.

Courtesy MUDEC, Milano.