Figure

Item number 2853/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

Kneeling figure. The head is elongated and topped with a round headdress that has a deep bowl at its centre. Scratches in the bowl suggest it was used as a container in some form. Carved into the face are eyes and a mouth, a hole for a right ear, and at left, a large oval shape. Below the short neck is a narrow chest and two arms bent so that the hands rest on the stomach, where a hole has been bored. The left side of the figure shows a leg bent at the hip and knee, indicating the figure is kneeling. The right side beneath the arm is not clearly carved.

History Of Use

Nomoli figures are placed near homes and in crop fields as a form of protection, in the belief that the nomoli will bring good health and good harvests.

Narrative

Marcel Ollivier was the French Consul General posted to Freetown, Sierra Leone, c. 1960s-1970, during which time he purchased this collection of objects (2853/1-9). He later finished his diplomatic service in Vancouver as French Consul General from 1982-1986, after which he retired to England. The objects were donated to MOA at the specific request of Ollivier, via his daughter-in-law.