This kneeling figure has its arms nearly akimbo, with the left hand placed over the side of the abdomen and the right on the hip. The figure's back is very...
This kneeling figure has its arms nearly akimbo, with the left hand placed over the side of the abdomen and the right on the hip. The figure's back is very straight and head slightly upturned. Black is dramatically used to accentuate certain facial features, such as around the eyes, on the lips and hair. Two black hollow squares decorate each cheek, representing a simple but effective tattooing or scarification, as with the designs on the upper arms. Similar figures also show the loincloth not reaching beyond the center of the thighs. What we are seeing here is probably a shaman/priest involved in ritual meditation or in a trance, which would account for the 'otherworldly' look in the eyes. When a superb artist intends to communicate a powerful state of being in a work of art, then that object will contain its original energy and beauty, undiminished by time.