Chamba Standing Male Figure

Shiny golden figure with a beaked head and arms flung back like wings.

This standing male figure is Chamba, from Nigeria, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is cast bronze. Bronze is an alloy chiefly of copper and tin, and West African founders have long used it, along with brass, for small cast figures. Smooth, upright figure in polished golden yellow with a long, curved beak-like nose, small ear projections and swept arms. The legs are thick and slightly bowed and the feet round. The finish is bright with darker recesses. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.75 deep and 3.25 high.

Part bird, part person, wholly shiny and satisfied.