Mossi Biiga or Doll / Fertility Figure

A spindly profile with a leaning head and a single arm raised toward the chest.

This biiga, a doll or fertility figure is Mossi, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is carved wood. The figure is typically a flat or columnar wooden form with a stylized head, carved with a smooth surface and sometimes a distinctive hairstyle. A slim dark carved figure with a narrow tilted head and a thin body that curves slightly. One small arm projects forward, and a few fine incised lines cross the torso. It ends in a tiny round foot. It is 1.4 inches wide, 2.2 deep and 11.3 high.

Skinny as a pencil and just as expressive.