An Old African Hermaphrodite

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Tropical Africa is a moist continent, not conducive to the conservation of objects. The remainings of ancient civilizations are scarce.

It will be noted in the sale of Sotheby's in New York on May 15 a wooden figure from Mali for which a carbon-14 dating provides an age of six to nine centuries. So it was created before the European explorations and before the installation of the Dogons in the region where it was found. Bernard de Grunne gives that ancient tribe the name Soninke.

Its long-term conservation is due to its presence in a cave, safe from rodents, insects and men, in an area of cliffs that had remained dry. The character, 76 cm high, is a bearded figure with male sex and female chest. This synthesis of man and woman is a symbol of perfection.

This old hermaphrodite waits for 400 K $.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This discussion was also posted on AFRICAN CULTURE network. An interesting video on Nok culture was added by my friend Roz. Here is my reply :

The fact that few artefacts remain from a nearly totally lost culture does not mean that such a culture was poor. We should be astonished if we have the means to know more about how people lived 2000 or 20000 years ago. The major milestone which led to all our current civilization is the invention of agriculture in permanent settlements circa 9000 years ago.

Coming back to the Sotheby's figure. It is very exciting to know that it is in wood and well preserved. It comes much later than Nok culture (but was possibly influenced by it ?). Some terracottas are also remnant of that culture. De Grunne named this culture Soninke but another scholar name it Djennenke. De Grunne counted circa 40 statuary works from this culture. Many of them were probably hidden in a cave when invaders (Dogons ?) came.


Visit African culture

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Bizarre and old, and witnessing a vanished culture. Sold $ 530 K costs included, this figure has exceeded its estimate.

Excellent results were obtained on other lots of this sale. As for jewelry and watches in Geneva this week, estimates were too conservative, and we again observe auction results similar to those before the "crisis".