Ibibio Medicine Bowl with Figural Handle, Based

Same family, different mood: this woman wears her headdress like a halo.

This medicine bowl with a figural handle was carved by Ibibio people of Nigeria, West Africa, in wood in the 20th century. Bowls of this type are often associated with healing and offerings. A frontal figure sits above a wide oval vessel, shoulders squared, with a high arched headdress framing her face. Pale pigment survives in patches over a warm brown ground. The bowl is a smooth, shallow dish with a faintly worn interior. A small black stand holds it upright.

About 10.5 inches tall. Quiet, upright, and slightly more severe.