Adangbe Wood Fetish Figure, Based

A slender standing figure carries an animal jaw at the hip, with a peg emerging from the mouth like a pipe.

This fetish figure is Adangbe, from Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood with pigment. Shrine figures in this region were often charged with added materials whose meanings are generally known only to their users. The figure stands upright with long arms, small breasts and a narrow, rounded head. Red, violet and white pigment covers the body in layers. An animal jaw and other organic material are fixed at the side. The legs taper into a weathered stake. It is 7.5 inches wide, 8 deep and 26.75 high.

Still standing guard over whatever was entrusted to it.