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<p>[QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 7631813, member: 8267"]I have been trying to identify your "fertility" figure, looking at features of the carving other than the obvious. A combination of things is leading me to believe it might be from the Fon people of the country of Benin (formerly Dahomey). Unfortunately, wood carvings identified as Fon are not well represented in museum collections for comparison. It also looks like the figure may once have held something, which might have helped with interpretation. However.....</p><p><br /></p><p>The brimless cap is rather distinctive, and does appear as a common style of headgear among the Fon, including the famous women warriors:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]423599[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]423598[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons</a></p><p><br /></p><p>This carving is held by the British Museum, identified as Fon, and shows a cap very similar to the one on your figure. Note it is female:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]423597[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1979-01-333" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1979-01-333" rel="nofollow">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1979-01-333</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The Fon are also very fond of the phallus as a symbol of Legba, a so-called trickster god. But these seem to be most common as disembodied representations:</p><p><img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKu9VD6N-295ByAcyWdeBTOVna-tzP80hpww&usqp=CAU" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.sftribal.com/product/legba-fon-people-west-africa/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.sftribal.com/product/legba-fon-people-west-africa/" rel="nofollow">https://www.sftribal.com/product/legba-fon-people-west-africa/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I am curious about the treatment of the chest area on your figure - there seems to be an indication of something ambiguous about the gender, as with the prominent buttocks, which can be seen on women in some Fon iron figures:</p><p><img src="https://ak-articles.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/_/825/64x6578G-lg.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.artkhade.com/en/articles/825/asen-forged-memories-of-iron-in-dahomey-vodun-art" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.artkhade.com/en/articles/825/asen-forged-memories-of-iron-in-dahomey-vodun-art" rel="nofollow">https://www.artkhade.com/en/articles/825/asen-forged-memories-of-iron-in-dahomey-vodun-art</a></p><p><br /></p><p>So, I am left wondering if, in this case, the exaggerated phallus is more symbolic of strength and power than male fertility. According to the Wikipedia article on the Dahomey women warriors -</p><p>"An 1851 published translation of a war chant of the women claims the warriors would chant: "[a]s the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith" rel="nofollow">blacksmith</a> takes an iron bar and by fire changes its fashion so have we changed our nature. <u>We are no longer women, we are men</u>."</p><p><br /></p><p>Not to mention the fact that "female warriors of the African kingdom of Dahomey brought back male genitalia to the king as war trophies."</p><p><i>(The (Not-So) Ancient Practice of Anatomical Trophy Taking: An Emphasis on Penile Dismemberment.</i> H. Moreland, M. Moran. The International Journal of Urologic History, Vol.1:1 July 2021.)</p><p><a href="https://www.ijuh.org/media/pdf/2021/06/22/Compiled_Vol1_Issue1.pdf#page=47" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ijuh.org/media/pdf/2021/06/22/Compiled_Vol1_Issue1.pdf#page=47" rel="nofollow">https://www.ijuh.org/media/pdf/2021/06/22/Compiled_Vol1_Issue1.pdf#page=47</a></p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, I may be totally wrong here - but it makes for a good story. I have been to some weird places in this research.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 7631813, member: 8267"]I have been trying to identify your "fertility" figure, looking at features of the carving other than the obvious. A combination of things is leading me to believe it might be from the Fon people of the country of Benin (formerly Dahomey). Unfortunately, wood carvings identified as Fon are not well represented in museum collections for comparison. It also looks like the figure may once have held something, which might have helped with interpretation. However..... The brimless cap is rather distinctive, and does appear as a common style of headgear among the Fon, including the famous women warriors: [ATTACH=full]423599[/ATTACH] [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons[/URL] [ATTACH=full]423598[/ATTACH] [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons[/URL] This carving is held by the British Museum, identified as Fon, and shows a cap very similar to the one on your figure. Note it is female: [ATTACH=full]423597[/ATTACH] [URL]https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1979-01-333[/URL] The Fon are also very fond of the phallus as a symbol of Legba, a so-called trickster god. But these seem to be most common as disembodied representations: [IMG]https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKu9VD6N-295ByAcyWdeBTOVna-tzP80hpww&usqp=CAU[/IMG] [URL]https://www.sftribal.com/product/legba-fon-people-west-africa/[/URL] I am curious about the treatment of the chest area on your figure - there seems to be an indication of something ambiguous about the gender, as with the prominent buttocks, which can be seen on women in some Fon iron figures: [IMG]https://ak-articles.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/_/825/64x6578G-lg.jpg[/IMG] [URL]https://www.artkhade.com/en/articles/825/asen-forged-memories-of-iron-in-dahomey-vodun-art[/URL] So, I am left wondering if, in this case, the exaggerated phallus is more symbolic of strength and power than male fertility. According to the Wikipedia article on the Dahomey women warriors - "An 1851 published translation of a war chant of the women claims the warriors would chant: "[a]s the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith']blacksmith[/URL] takes an iron bar and by fire changes its fashion so have we changed our nature. [U]We are no longer women, we are men[/U]." Not to mention the fact that "female warriors of the African kingdom of Dahomey brought back male genitalia to the king as war trophies." [I](The (Not-So) Ancient Practice of Anatomical Trophy Taking: An Emphasis on Penile Dismemberment.[/I] H. Moreland, M. Moran. The International Journal of Urologic History, Vol.1:1 July 2021.) [URL]https://www.ijuh.org/media/pdf/2021/06/22/Compiled_Vol1_Issue1.pdf#page=47[/URL] On the other hand, I may be totally wrong here - but it makes for a good story. I have been to some weird places in this research.[/QUOTE]
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