Female Figure

This is a Temne wooden female figure. She has a typical segmented neck and a striped rectangle of cotton around her waist. Though she resembles a so-called minsereh, or min, figure, these terms are traditionally associated with female wooden figures from the south of Sierra Leone; this example originates in the north. The collector of this figure was Captain George Arthur Williams who made a journey into the interior of Sierra Leone in 1892 to visit Samori Ture, the founder of an inland Muslim state who was at war with the French colonial authorities. During is journey he passed through Tinkatupa, a Temne chiefdom, north of Port Loko. This figure is thought to have come from Tinkatupa.

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Further Information

  • Type: Figures, sculpture
  • Object: Female Figure
  • Materials: Wood, Textile
  • Culture Group: Temne
  • Dimensions: 1010mm [H] x 190mm [W] x 180mm [C]
  • Production Date: Pre 1897
  • Associated Places: Tinkatupa
  • Associated People: Harold Lee; George Arthur Williams
  • Museum: British Museum
  • Accession Number: BM:Af.1897.713.1

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