Makonde Fetish Doll Maternity Figure, Based

Wide hips, long legs, and a gaze aimed at the ceiling.

Makonde artists of Tanzania, East Africa, modeled this maternity figure in terra cotta in the late 19th or early 20th century. Figures of mothers are commonly linked with fertility and protective power. The slender standing woman tilts her head upward, with short arms spread and a small child pressed against one side. Her thin legs are set apart on a low plinth.

About eleven inches tall. Poised and a little unsettled. Gives a quiet shelf some drama without raising its voice.