Large Dakakari Statue Ethnic Group From Nigeria

Important commemorative sculpture of the Dakakari ethnic group of Nigeria forming a terracotta stele resting on an ebony base. Zoomorphic decoration on each side, depicting a deer head and the other reminiscent of a lemur, the whole resting on a spherical base surmounted by four legs. Dimensions 80 cm high X 47 cm wide / Base height 10.5 cm Sides: 21 cm The Dakakari live in the northwest of Nigeria, in the region of the city of Zuru. Their social organization has been studied by English anthropologists since the first half of the 20th century. RTD FitzGerald was interested in Dakakari works and published an article in 1944[1] on the production of terracotta figures. He divides these potteries into 6 groups, of which group 4 brings together "human and animal figures not mounted on spherical bases". The anthropologist notes in drawings the different types encountered, and we find these characteristics on the statue in the Hélène Leloup Collection: a mounted rider with a saddle, the presence of scarifications, a stylized horse's head, and gaping mouths for the rider and his mount - a detail poetically interpreted as a song by the editorial staff of Arts d'Afrique Noire in 1986[2] for the Dakakari exhibition at Galerie 62. The figures of riders described by FitzGerald are rare and the Garcias presented the largest group of this type in 1986. In the 1980s, Hélène Leloup was particularly interested in terracotta, as evidenced by her exhibition on the Djenné and the Bankoni in 1986, and the acquisition of this statue at Galerie 62, the same year, confirmed her exploration for ancient terracotta that departed from the classical canons and provided with a history and strong symbolism. Thermoluminescence tests of Dakakari terracotta reveal an age of 200 to 250 years[3].