Female Bust

An unusual carved female bust, described as a Kissi figure in the Glasgow Museum's catalogue. The figure holds her arms up, bent at the elbow, in one hand she is holding a comb. She has a segmented neck and decorative panels carved above her breasts. Guy Massie Taylor has noted that it was collected on the Kenema-Wando road, which does not confer with the idea that the figure is Kissi. The fact that she is holding a comb might suggest she is representative of a Mende tingoi: a female spirit known to hold a comb in one hand.

Further Information

• Type: Figures, sculpture
• Object: Female Bust
• Materials: Wood
• Culture Group: Kisi, Mende
• Dimensions: 700mm [H] x 333mm x 333mm
• Production Date: Pre 1955
• Associated Places: Kenema-Wando road, Kenema District (Collected)
• Associated People: Guy Massie-Taylor (Collector)
• Museum: Glasgow Museums
• Accession Number: GLAMG:A.1985.13.bj

Related Objects