Featured Tribal carving - ethnographic unknown

Dear members ,

Several years ago I purchased an artifact from a regional antique dealer whom was unable to provide a background. I have always felt this to be a tribal item from either the African or Middle Eastern cultures. I have over the years conducted online research however had not located anything resembling the artwork. Until recently when I happened upon a piece ( second photo) associated with the Tuareg peoples, who have a unique blend of the two cultures I had considered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuareg_people)

This particular piece is adorned with either ivory or at least bone embellishment along with a pliable embossed metal leaf - there are no written markings. There are 2 doors that open from the back, held by a small wooden block. I suspect due to the detail that it is antique of strong cultural significance as it appears too crude to be a reproduction. And the adornments although similar have minor differences, so I do not expect that they have been mass produced.

I am hoping members would please offer opinion.

With appreciation - Mark

 

Hi @MKLH aka Mark! And WELCOME to ANTIQUERS!! Sounds like you've done a bit of research on the site and most likely know it's pretty much a world wide site, so different members are on at different times! So, if you don't get a response right away, or tonight, keep checking back!!! Members WILL be checking in!!! This site gets to be fun AND a bit addictive!! As well, you should get good information!

 

Hi there Aquitaine, thank you so very much for your kind welcome ! Yes you are right it is so fun, and I'm loving all the positive energy here - I am already starting to sense the onset of an addiction

 

Welcome, Mark. Could you give us dimensions please? And please also show us other sides. Interesting item, lots of care put into making it. She's more often our jewellery guru, but 'm going to ask @Any Jewelry if she recognizes this.

 

The shape of 3 panels in lower photo... Dome on mosque in India,various onion shaped domes in Russia,etc...

 

Hi Bronwen nice to meet you and thank you for your response.
Certainly... it is approximately 42cm x 49cm or 16.5'' x 19.2''

 

That Sir.....is an odd thing !!!

 

Yes, a very mysterious curio...

 

at 1st glance....I'd suggest tramp art.....prison art....as a likely starting place....but that's likely due to the bone inlays........... so.....just a thought out loud ....

 

I don’t know. Makes me think of those ornate and decorative door or window frame look alike indian mirror frames.

 

More inclined to think it's a familial religious / cultural item - tramp/prison art is a thought - however I'm not sure how that scenario would fit with the embellishments being possibly ivory/silver or gold and how they would source / afford / keep them if incarcerated or a vagabond.

 

@Boland - that was one of my first thoughts too - as in a viewing screen insert in a door.

 

Maybe somekind or religious ‘shrine’ picture frame. Are the embellishments not just cow bone and brass?

 

Compare with these windows in traditional mud architecture of Timbuktu, Mali:


https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-traditional-window-timbuktu-image26371085


https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310969

 

Iam just guessing. But there are some very knowledgeable members on this forum that will be able provide you with real answers. Personally I don’t think this item is an antique (sorry)

 

The white elements are probably camel bone. The brass elements appear to be mass produced - all identical. The wood shows kerfs characteristic of lumber cut with an up-and-down gang saw, not a pit saw (which would be an older technique, where the kerf marks would be angled rather than straight). The finish appears to be finer on the wood of the documented and in situ examples that I posted.

There is the possibility that your piece may be a reproduction of a traditional type of window, gussied up a bit for the collectors' market. This practice is not uncommon in the African art market. Does it show any evidence of having been installed in an architectural feature?

 

@Boland - the reference to ivory or precious/semi leans more to my own optimism, however as you suggest quite likely bovine / domestic cattle bone. No need at all for apologies I value the insight - that's the specs I'm attempting to determine, motivated by curiosity.

 

@2manybooks - thanks so much for the comparisons, in juxtaposition there are similarities, I'm not sure about the mass production though, or what MP means in your context - I feel an embossing tool was used for the impression however each decal has slight differences in cut and even texture to a degree. Not sure about brass either as it tends to tarnish in a different way than it appears here. I believe brass usually tarnishes relatively fast, from 2-3 weeks, and results in a patina of blue to green colour ? This has been untouched for at least the 7 years I've had it. Re architecture - possibly as there are some small holes either end which appear to have been filled.

 

Well it’s a interesting item to try and figure out and to learn about. Thanks for posting it

 

Actually it takes years to tarnish brass. I have a trunk with brass design covering it As kids we had the chore of polishing it with an electric eraser of all things. It is a very large trunk with lots of thin brass. It was last done in the 1970's and It is just now getting back that nice old patina. I agree with yours probably being a decorative window . It reminds me a little of harem windows that I saw in Turkey,but not that style just maybe that purpose. I would look at it closely to see how it was attached to something else. If no signs of being attached , than probably never used and therefore tourist item. Welcome to antiquers.