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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 3224239, member: 8267&quot;]As the other objects seem to have been properly identified by the auction, and seem to have come from a knowledgeable collector, I am inclined to accept the identification of the standing figure as Mbole. It is a type that I am not familiar with, however, and so I have been doing a little more digging.</p><p><br /></p><p>It seems the Mbole have a tradition of carving figures known as &quot;ofika&quot;, which portray people who have been executed by hanging for violating rules established by a secret society/law enforcement known as &quot;Lilwa&quot;. Such figures are used during the ceremonies for new initiates into the society. Characteristic features of the figures include a sunken face and torso, hunched shoulders, arms hanging limply by their sides or toward the front, and slightly bent knees. Some figures have feet that also hang down, emphasizing the suspended effect. (There is some discussion about figures that stand flat on their feet being representations of ancestors, rather than hanging victims, but this seems to be unclear.) They are often polychrome. This example from the auction is more roughly/simply carved than other examples I have found, but as a type they do not appear to be very&nbsp; common.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/assets/Uploads/x1986.315.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/Mbole" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/Mbole" rel="nofollow">https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/peoples/show/Mbole</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is another example from the Metropolitan Art Museum -</p><p><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/311032" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/311032" rel="nofollow">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/311032</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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