Maasai Wood Standing Figure, Based

Staff in hand, cloth over one shoulder, and in no particular hurry.

This standing figure is Maasai work from Kenya / Tanzania, East Africa, 20th century, in carved wood. The Maasai are cattle-keeping peoples, and figures like this portray the familiar image of a herder or warrior, with a draped cloth and a long staff for following the herd. He has long pierced earlobes, a calm face and a ridge of hair at the brow. One hand grips the staff, the other a curved object at his hip. The dark surface looks rough on one arm. Eighteen inches high.

He gives the impression of having walked a long way and expecting to walk further.