A Rare Nkanu Houseboard with Stylised Chameleon Figure
RdC, wood, 112 cm high. Among the Nkanu, a Kikaku initiation house was created by the society to transition young men into manhood before the final reintegration of the circumcised. The Kikaku - a roofed hut with an open front house - had sculpted polychrome panels. The carved images on the panels were said to depict metaphoric images of fertility, death and the spirit world, for which the interpretation was only for initiates. This rare panel shows a chameleon in high relief at the centre, with the background decorated with geometric shapes. Chameleons, being able to be invisible, can live in two different worlds, past and present, spirit and physical. They represent the dialogue between these two worlds.
Provenance:
Pierre Dartevelle Collection.
Cf.
Nkanu panels can be found in the Peggy Guggenheim foundation in Venice (76.2553 PG 252-253).
Specialist: Joris Visser
Joris Visser
+32-2-514 00 34
Joris.Visser@dorotheum.com
13.10.2022 - 16:18
- Estimate:
-
EUR 6,000.- to EUR 8,000.-
- Starting bid:
-
EUR 4,000.-
A Rare Nkanu Houseboard with Stylised Chameleon Figure
RdC, wood, 112 cm high. Among the Nkanu, a Kikaku initiation house was created by the society to transition young men into manhood before the final reintegration of the circumcised. The Kikaku - a roofed hut with an open front house - had sculpted polychrome panels. The carved images on the panels were said to depict metaphoric images of fertility, death and the spirit world, for which the interpretation was only for initiates. This rare panel shows a chameleon in high relief at the centre, with the background decorated with geometric shapes. Chameleons, being able to be invisible, can live in two different worlds, past and present, spirit and physical. They represent the dialogue between these two worlds.
Provenance:
Pierre Dartevelle Collection.
Cf.
Nkanu panels can be found in the Peggy Guggenheim foundation in Venice (76.2553 PG 252-253).
Specialist: Joris Visser
Joris Visser
+32-2-514 00 34
Joris.Visser@dorotheum.com
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| Auction: | Tribal Art |
| Auction type: | Online auction |
| Date: | 13.10.2022 - 16:18 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 06.10. - 13.10. 2022 |