2394175

Early Colonial Tanzanian Witch Doctor's Piece #2394175

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
Early Colonial Tanzanian Witch Doctor's Piece #2394175
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A TRULY UNIQUE AND RARE PIECE! DON'T MISS OUT! BID NOW!</em></td>
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This small sculpture was field collected two years ago from an old Luguru witch doctor in the Morogoro area, who said that it had belonged to his grandfather, also a witch doctor, who had used it as an anti-sorcery power piece. However, the current owner of the sculpture no longer used it for this purpose, and it had been sitting in his hut unused for decades. Furthermore, it was the only piece he was willing to sell. (We have been told that there is a photograph of the witch doctor in front of the hut in which this piece was stored, along with other medicine gourds and paraphernalia, but it has not yet been located. We will post it if and when it is located.) The sculpture shows a bearded man wearing a military kepi with a badge above the visor that appears to be made from hammered and cut pewter. Judging from the age of the witch doctor who sold this sculpture (which he claimed belonged to his grandfather), and the overall quality of the carving itself, we feel confident in stating that this is a very early colonial piece, dating to at least World War I, and quite possibly earlier, in other words, to the time of German colonialism. Such carvings were done back then not only to sell to European travelers, soldiers and missionaries, but also as a way to pay taxes in a non-cash economy. This piece was densely coated in a fine red dust when first collected, and as the sculpture could not really be appreciated or properly seen in that condition, it was decided to clean off the dust. ...
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<td>Reference
#: 002b</td>
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<tr><td>Condition:Excellent</td></tr>
<tr><td>Year:early 20th Century</td></tr>






<tr><td>Title:Early Colonial Tanzanian Witch Doctor's Piece</td></tr>



<tr><td>Location:New York, New York</td></tr>
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