Female Figure

The commanding size of this elongated figure differentiates it from other Nyamwezi figures in museum collections. It was made in seven pieces that can be assembled easily into an asymmetrical and off-balanced pose. Some hallmarks of Nyamwezi art are expressed in this sculpture, including unsettling references to crippling infirmity in the form of a goiter (an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid near the throat), awkwardly bent legs, knobby joints, and blocky feet.