Standing Female Figure on a Skull Throne, West African Court Style

Full-length figures bearing the emblems of authority — staff, axe, sword and skull — stand alongside an enthroned ruler and the members of his court, as sentinels of royal power and ancestral protection.

Bronze has long been the language of power in West Africa. Cast by the lost-wax method — in which a model shaped in wax is encased in clay and replaced by molten metal — these works preserve with remarkable fidelity the faces, regalia and ceremonies of the courts that commissioned them.

A commanding full-length female figure stands upon a monumental skull, her gaze calm and fixed ahead. A towering beaded crown rises in tiers of miniature carved heads and is crowned by a small skull finial, giving the work a striking vertical presence.

Layered strands of beads cascade over her chest, and a belt hung with bells encircles the hips. Her right hand grips a tall ringed staff ending in a forked, hooked blade, while her left presents a rounded vessel incised with chevrons.

The entire surface is worked with fine circular and geometric motifs beneath a warm, mottled patina that brings out every detail of the casting.