This unusual Kwere fetish object has been bound and wrapped with strips of cloth and decorated with an array of glass and metal beads, as well as metal bands. It is comprised of two pieces - a longer wooden section which has been completely bound, in which an animal horn has been strapped and attached to the section. Woven fibre, located at the top half of the animal horn, would have secured the carved wooden stopper tightly into the entrance of the horn. In this way, the horn would have acted as a form of container for traditional medicines, used in healing rituals.
The finely carved wooden stopper depicts a female with a sweeping coiffure, who holds her stomach with both hands in a gesture of fertility. The parted hairstyle indicates that this piece belonged to a traditional healer from the Kwere culture in Tanzania. Further attachments of small cloth bundles containing charms have been sewn to the length of the bound wooden upright section. The piece would have been held in the hand during ceremonies, and later hung on the wall by its attached fibre strap.
Estimated Period: Mid-20th Century (Or Before)
Height: 40cm
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