A fine Agni terracotta funerary figure, Krinjabo region, Ivory Coast

the female figure with cylindrical body and arms held in front, the oval head with typical features, the coiffure arranged in tresses; fine aged dark grey patina.

Collected in situ by Marcel Lheureux, 1920s
Helena Rubinstein, Paris and New York
Parke-Bernet Galleries, The Helena Rubinstein Collection, New York, April 21, 1966, lot 149
Acquired at the above auction

The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, African Art in Westchester from Private Collections, April 24 – June 6, 1971
C. W. Post Art Gallery, Greenvale, New York, African Sculpture: The Shape of Surprise, February 17 – March 30, 1980
The Center for African Art, New York, Likeness and Beyond: Portraits from Africa and the World, February 14 – August 12, 1990
The Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, Likeness and Beyond: Portraits from Africa and the World, September 16 - November 11, 1990

The Hudson River Museum (ed.), African Art in Westchester from Private Collections, Yonkers, 1971, cat. 109 (illustrated, erroneously as cat. 108)
Susan M. Vogel, African Sculpture: The Shape of Surprise, New York, 1980, p. 44, cat. 58 (unillustrated)
Jean M. Borgatti and Richard Brilliant, Likeness and Beyond: Portraits from Africa and the World, New York, 1990, p. 111, cat. 34

Stable condition overall. Fragile material. Left arm restored; various surface repairs and old breaks and repairs; some fragmentation at the base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Dr. Marcel Lheureux was a French medical doctor who traveled in Sanwi, the southern Agni kingdom, in the 1920s. He collected a large group of Krinjabo heads and also full figures, among them the present lot. A record of his conclusions regarding the terracottas was deposited at the Musée de l'Homme, Paris, in 1932. His collection was probably the largest outside of Africa (GVR 2008).