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Lot Essay
Le Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac compte dans ses collections deux poupées très similaires de ce type archaïque. Une première fut acquise in situ au cours de la Mission Dakar-Djibouti menée par Marcel Griaule en 1931 dans le village de Garoua (inv. n° 71.1931.74.2613). La deuxième poupée fut collectée par J.P. Lebeuf pendant la Mission Sahara-Cameroun en 1936 dans le même village (inv. n° 71.1938.46.357). Ces poupées sont décorées de quatre « masses » de perles, représentant les jambes et les bras. La poupée Matisse est le seul exemplaire orné de deux petites perles blanches indiquant les yeux. Bien que les deux poupées du Musée du quai Branly soient attribuées aux Peul (Fulani) par le musée, ce groupe musulman ne connaissait pas les poupées anthropomorphes. Elles proviennent certainement du peuple Fali, qui vivait dans les montagnes au nord de Garoua, dans une enclave entourée par les Peul. Les Fali sont connus pour avoir eu des poupées anthropomorphes de fertilité (ham pilu) comme d’autres populations non musulmanes de la région telles que les Papé, Duru, Gizinga ou Dowayo – populations animistes regroupées sous le nom de Kirdi (communication personnelle avec François Mottas, août 2019). Ces poupées n’étaient pas seulement des jouets, elles étaient offertes par de jeunes hommes à leurs fiancées, représentant leur désir d’avoir des enfants.
The Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac owns two very similar dolls of this archaic type. A first was collected during Marcel Griaule’s Mission Dakar-Djibouti in 1931 in the village of Garoua (inv. no. 71.1931.74.2613). A second doll, with identical brown grain beads, was collected by J.P. Lebeuf during the Mission Sahara-Cameroun in 1936 in the same village (inv. no. 71.1938.46.357). Both dolls share the identical feature of four masses of beads, representing the limbs, while the Matisse example is the only one with beads indicating the eyes. Although both dolls are classified as Peul (Fulani) by the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, this Muslim group in fact did not know anthropomorphic dolls. These dolls are more likely to originate from the Fali, who lived in the mountains just north of Garoua in an enclave surrounded by the Peul. The Fali are known to have had many anthropomorphic "fertility" dolls (called ham pilu) like other non-Muslim populations of the region such as Papé, Duru, Gizinga or Dowayo – animist populations grouped under the name of Kirdi (personal communication with François Mottas, August 2019). Such dolls were not only toys, but also given by young men to their fiancees, representing their desired future children.
The Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac owns two very similar dolls of this archaic type. A first was collected during Marcel Griaule’s Mission Dakar-Djibouti in 1931 in the village of Garoua (inv. no. 71.1931.74.2613). A second doll, with identical brown grain beads, was collected by J.P. Lebeuf during the Mission Sahara-Cameroun in 1936 in the same village (inv. no. 71.1938.46.357). Both dolls share the identical feature of four masses of beads, representing the limbs, while the Matisse example is the only one with beads indicating the eyes. Although both dolls are classified as Peul (Fulani) by the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, this Muslim group in fact did not know anthropomorphic dolls. These dolls are more likely to originate from the Fali, who lived in the mountains just north of Garoua in an enclave surrounded by the Peul. The Fali are known to have had many anthropomorphic "fertility" dolls (called ham pilu) like other non-Muslim populations of the region such as Papé, Duru, Gizinga or Dowayo – animist populations grouped under the name of Kirdi (personal communication with François Mottas, August 2019). Such dolls were not only toys, but also given by young men to their fiancees, representing their desired future children.