*A very beautiful set of five miniature Tuphele statuettes t - Lot 235

*A very beautiful set of five miniature Tuphele statuettes tied together in a net, formerly part of a Ngombo Ya Cisuka divination basket. The statuette in the center represents a Cikunza mask bearer, the patron saint of the Mukanda initiation, very characteristic with his large, rising headdress evoking the horn of a hippotragus, as well as a double spoon with inverted spoons, and an inverted character that are characteristic elements of the occult language of divination among the Tchokwe. For a complete Tchokwe divination basket, see: Art and Oracle, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, TMMOA ed., New York, 2000, pp. 46-47. Tchokwe, Angola Wood, cotton thread, vegetable fiber, visible accidents and small missing parts, beautiful patina of use. H. 7,8 cm Provenance : - Personal collection of Charles-Émile Thiébaud, collected between 1932 and 1933 during the second Swiss mission to Angola, see previous lot. - Swiss private collection. *This lot is sold as a temporary import.