Charles Abel befriended Mutuaga, a carver of considerable reputation, shortly after his arrival in the Eastern Division. The carver had already been making lime spatulas with distinctly naturalistic human figure handles in the 1880s. It is thought to have been at Abel's suggestion that Mutuaga began carving similar but larger figures on pedestals for European dignitaries and missionaries. More than seventy carvings have so far been attributed to Mutuaga by Harry Beran who is preparing a monograph on the artist to be published next year. We are grateful for his assistance in cataloguing this group of artefacts