{"product_id":"pair-of-ewe-terracotta-ancestor-shrine-figures","title":"Pair of Ewe Terracotta Ancestor Shrine Figures","description":"\u003cp\u003eEwe peoples, Togo (Mono River region, Togo–Benin border)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis choice and expressive pair of abstract anthropomorphic shrine vessels stands on flared disc bases, each figure rising as a hollow tubular body with paddle-like hands and feet extended before it, pointed breasts, and a frankly modeled male sex. The faces are boldly rendered with open eyes, flared nostrils, and a mouth pierced in hollowed tubular form, while the hollow heads open at the top to form the vessel mouth, encircled at the flared rim by a band of nodded, knob-like \"hair\". Made by Ewe potters as ancestor and Vodun altar vessels—objects that received libations and offerings in shrine use—the pair retains a richly varied surface with earthen deposits and traces of pigment attesting to genuine ritual life and age.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA matched surviving pair of this scale is uncommon, and the figures are notably enhanced by their early publication: a closely comparable pair appears in Dmitry Olderogge's The Art of Africa: Negro Art from the Institute of Ethnography, Leningrad, with photographs by Werner Forman (Hamlyn House Press, 1969), p. 141. Provenance: private Pennsylvania collection, acquired about thirty years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSize: 13-3\/8 inches (34 cm) \u0026amp; 12-5\/8 inches (32 cm) H.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCf. also comparable pairs in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and the Dallas Museum of Art for related African anthropomorphic terracotta vessels. Rare and expressive\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Art for Eternity","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45796682760506,"sku":"10769","price":3450.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0775\/5120\/6714\/files\/10769bl.jpg?v=1694268248","url":"https:\/\/howardnowes.com\/products\/pair-of-ewe-terracotta-ancestor-shrine-figures","provider":"Art for Eternity","version":"1.0","type":"link"}