Lot: 231

98th Auction

Mirror case

Nigeria, Yoruba

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
Lauritz Sunde (1910-1979), Copenhagen, Denmark
Christophe Rolley, Bagneux, France
M: 10.8 inch x 7.9 inch This object is not available anymore.

wood, camwood powder, missing part, incised number "270726069932"

The frame is carved with snake and loop motif. The masked face of "eshu" is on the back. The areas filled with fine linear engravings. At the bottom are two whimsical figures with oversized hands and triangular heads, each with an eye.

Elaborately decorated domestic utensils were the privilege of the wealthy and the powerful. Like the carved veranda posts and doors that greeted visitors to their homes, the smaller pieces, even a comb or a mirror, were also symbols of social status. Mirrors like this were popular wedding gifts.


Fagg, William, Yoruba, Sculpture of West Africa, New York 1982, p. 129, plate 38 Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Berg en Dal 2004, p. 209, cat. 198