Fon Maternity Statue, Benin

Imposing protective fetish for a mother and her child used in voodoo worship. The mother seated on a stool holds her child with one arm on one knee and with the other hand she holds a stylized representation of an ax, this being the symbol of Hevioso vodun of thunder and lightning (Shango in the Yoruba). On the top of his high sugar loaf headdress we find Hevioso represented by a two-sided iron ax. Beautiful, expressive face, with a large patina made up of a mixture of soot, broken egg and dried animal blood. The object received many offerings. The sculpture is strong and powerful.

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Origin
Ex private collection from the south of France.