This large container features a wooden stopper of a Makonde head with very fine decorations and a lip adornment. The surface of the stopper is dark and worn from use and fits neatly into its gourd container. The size of the gourd used to contain the traditional medicine inside is larger than normally found and this in turn follows with the size of its wooden stopper. Wrapped around the middle of the container are strands of leather that secure to one side a small fetish bundle as shown in the photos.
Such containers were traditional used by many cultures along the coastal regions of Tanzania running down to the border region of Mozambique where this container would have been found.
Ex Private Collection of a Doctor, France. Formally ex Galerie von Miller, Frankfurt.
Estimated Period: 1st Half 20th Century
Height: 23cm
NMN.IBO
(Click on images to enlarge)
