height 20 1/2in (52cm)
Wood

Provenance:
Olivier Le Corneur, Paris
Sotheby's, New York, December 1983, lot 104
Private Collection, England

This exceptionally carved figure stands in an attentive posture with shoulders rolled back, arms at the sides and hands with elongated fingers resting on the stomach. A most striking feature is his intricately carved and braided tripartite beard which curves delicately almost half way down the torso. The finely incised coiffure is accentuated with two conical, crescent-form decorations on top and a raised S-form element beginning at the temples, curving over the ears and ending at the back of the neck; raised scarifications highlight the temples, the neck, the back and the chest; the proportionally balanced torso with muscular buttocks and calves terminating at the now lost feet; fine dark-brown patina overall with some ancient surface losses.