Carved from the same hand, from a semi-hard brown wood, this pair of Losso figures display highly abstract features, from the stylised incisions resembling mouths to the unusual flattened shape of the figures' heads.
Figures displaying the same type of flattened head were collected from the Lamba region - neighbouring that of the Losso in northern Togo - as far back as 1899 by colonial administrators. This pair would likely date to the Mid 20th Century or before. There is a lot of unknowns about the traditional function of these types of figures, it has been suggested that they were possibly made and kept to evoke fertility.
Height: 19.5 cm
Ex Private UK collection
Reference: Thomas Keller (2018) 'Northern Togo Statuary'. pp 43 - 50
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