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Lot Essay
Il s’agit ici d’une belle et rare sculpture lithique attribuée au peuple Toma (aussi connu sous le nom Loma), établi dans la région frontalière entre la Guinée et le Libéria. Son attribution à cette ethnie repose principalement sur le traitement formel et stylisé du visage : une surface mandorlée et plane au front proéminent, un nez court, des yeux et une bouche encochés (parfois inexistante). Ces caractéristiques formelles peuvent également être observées sur les masques en bois toma (cf. collection du Dallas Museum of Art, inv. n° 1974.SC.19, du musée royal d'Afrique centrale, inv. n° EO.1979.38.1, etc.).
Pour les rares exemplaires analogues, voir celui de l’ancienne collection Guillaume Vranken-Hoet publié dans Guimiot, P. et Velde, L. van de, Oerkunsten van Zwart Afrika - Arts premiers d'Afrique Noire, Bruxelles, 1977, p. 44, n° 16 et celui offert par le couple Bertha et William Teel en 1996 au Museum of Fine Arts Boston (inv. n° 1996.378).
This exquisite and rare stone sculpture is attributed to the Toma people (also known as Loma), who inhabit the border region between Guinea and Liberia. Its attribution to this ethnic group is primarily based on the formal and stylized treatment of the face: an almond-shaped and flat surface with a prominent forehead, a short nose, and incised eyes and mouth (the mouth sometimes being absent). These formal characteristics can also be observed in Toma wooden masks (see the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, inv. no. 1974.SC.19, and the Royal Museum for Central Africa, inv. no. EO.1979.38.1, among others).
For the few known comparable examples, see the piece from the former Guillaume Vranken-Hoet collection, published in Guimiot, P. and Van de Velde, L., Oerkunsten van Zwart Afrika - Arts premiers d'Afrique Noire, Brussels, 1977, p. 44, no. 16, as well as the sculpture donated by Bertha and William Teel in 1996 to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 1996.378).
Pour les rares exemplaires analogues, voir celui de l’ancienne collection Guillaume Vranken-Hoet publié dans Guimiot, P. et Velde, L. van de, Oerkunsten van Zwart Afrika - Arts premiers d'Afrique Noire, Bruxelles, 1977, p. 44, n° 16 et celui offert par le couple Bertha et William Teel en 1996 au Museum of Fine Arts Boston (inv. n° 1996.378).
This exquisite and rare stone sculpture is attributed to the Toma people (also known as Loma), who inhabit the border region between Guinea and Liberia. Its attribution to this ethnic group is primarily based on the formal and stylized treatment of the face: an almond-shaped and flat surface with a prominent forehead, a short nose, and incised eyes and mouth (the mouth sometimes being absent). These formal characteristics can also be observed in Toma wooden masks (see the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, inv. no. 1974.SC.19, and the Royal Museum for Central Africa, inv. no. EO.1979.38.1, among others).
For the few known comparable examples, see the piece from the former Guillaume Vranken-Hoet collection, published in Guimiot, P. and Van de Velde, L., Oerkunsten van Zwart Afrika - Arts premiers d'Afrique Noire, Brussels, 1977, p. 44, no. 16, as well as the sculpture donated by Bertha and William Teel in 1996 to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 1996.378).