Female Bust

An unusual carved bust wearing a shoulder cloth and head tie of stained red cotton, decorated with cowrie shells. It resembles a Kissi, or Kisi, reliquary for a pompta or nomoli, similar to that found in the Glasgow Museums collections (GLAMG:A.1985.13.bk), although it does not have the same distinctive segmented neck. The Sierra Leone National Museum records describe it as a Juju figure, known as a yaibai.

Further Information

• Type: Figures, sculpture
• Object: Female Bust
• Materials: Wood, Textile, Shell
• Culture Group: Kisi
• Dimensions: Unknown
• Production Date: Pre 1964
• Associated Places: Freetown
• Associated People: Samuel Cassel (Carver)
• Museum: Sierra Leone National Museum
• Accession Number: SLNM.1964.42.01

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