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Namji fertility doll from Cameroon, beaded and clad in cowrie shells, mounted on a black timber plinth.The Namji, also known as Namchi or Dowayo, live in the west of northern Cameroon and are known for these figures. Plain carved dolls are children's toys. Once they're dressed in beads, shells and coins, the doll becomes something else: a surrogate child for a woman hoping to conceive, fed and carried on her back like an infant. The decoration copies what young initiates wear returning to the village. Once a child arrives, the doll goes to the family altar or passes to a daughter.This example has a carved hardwood head with a domed cap of brass seed beads topped with a wooden finial, wooden bead ears, inset white glass eyes and a metal strip nose. The neck is wrapped in dense brass beading over a woven collar, and the body is completely clad in overlapping cowrie shells with a wooden bead necklace falling down the front.
The object is quiet and strange in the best way. Small enough for a shelf, distinctive enough that people ask about it.Contemporary piece in the traditional Namji style, made in Cameroon for the collector and interiors market. Not presented as an antique or a field-collected ritual object.Dimensions
Height including stand: approx 30 cm
