Kotoko Bronze Standing Figure

Slim pointed figure wearing a string of beads or bumps at the neck.

This standing bronze figure is Kotoko, from Chad, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Kotoko bronze figures are cast by the lost-wax method and are generally thought to relate to ancestors and ritual, though specific meanings depend on the community. Presenting a tall, thin form tapering to a pointed head, with a cluster of rounded bumps across the chest. A loop hangs near one leg. The surface is a warm, mottled yellow with darker tarnish, on a black plinth. It is 1 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 3 high.

Pointy, bejeweled and just a little mysterious.