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Human sculptures

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Main catalogue: "2 roughly carved wooden figures. a) 108, b) 71 cm high. The latter wears strings of pearls around her neck and hips, on her left arm [...] pearl rings and a short string of pearls on her nose. "The figures were bought by Waseguha, who performed dances in Saadani to celebrate Ramadan. They were carried around in a circle during the day, each dressed in a white cloth, and sung to. They were supposed to represent the scheitani (devil). The lead dancer wore the mask III E 5998 and the drum III E 5999 was beaten for the dance." (Hessling) Waseguha, coastal area. Tanzania"

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Waseguha
Object type
Human sculptures
Dimensions
Weight: 5,3 kg
Height: 107 cm
Width: 36 cm
Depth: 27,5 cm
Weight: 4,3 kg
Height: 76 cm
Width: 31,5 cm
Depth: 14 cm
Material/Technique
Wood, Glass, Eggshell (ostrich), Textile
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III E 5997 a,b

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Tanzania
    who
    Waseguha
  • Collecting
    who
    Hesseling - Collectors
    von Benningsen - Collectors
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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