Bidspirit auction | Turkana Beaded Wood & Leather

Turkana Beaded Wood & Leather Ikoku - An African hand-carved wooden female figure, a traditional Turkana Ikoku fertility doll from Kenya. The figure is carved with a cylindrical torso and a stylized head featuring a flattened, disc-like face with incised nose and mouth and inset white glass beads for eyes. It is elaborately adorned with traditional ornaments, including a thick multi-row collar composed of red and black Abrus precatorius seeds, commonly known as lucky beans, which are secured to the neck with small metal pins over a base row of white glass seed beads. The head is topped with a leather or fiber coiffure accented by strands of red beads. The figure features coiled metal wire armbands and a multi-strand white bead waist belt that supports a fringed leather apron. The apron is further decorated with draped white bead strands and three pendant beads in blue, red, and yellow. A rectangular leather panel at the rear is embellished with a vertical pattern of red and white beads. The piece is displayed on a contemporary black wire stand.Height: 10 inches.