Im Inventar der Sammlung Galaverni wie folgt beschrieben:

A Mambila feminine figure, Adamawa area, Nigeria/Cameroon.

Wooden sculptures among the Mambila of the Ada awa region between Nigeria and Cameroon, are quite rare and show a very personal style. Both human and animal figures look very vital, sometimes creating an Impression of movement, an element which is unusual to the artistic production of this continent. In fact, composure and immobility are the main characteristics for the sculptural realizations of the old African continent. Egyptian sculpture is a great master from this point of view.

Mambila are also renowned for the large use of colours in the finishing when the carving is done. Colours obtained from the powder of redwood, bone ashes and soot were used to enhance the liveliness of their pieces. Figures were created in connection with rituals to obtain somebody’s healing, more often were meant as a representation of fertility and sometimes used to protect the house from robberies. This specimen is certainly outstanding: its astonishing movement may recall solutions that can be found in Western Artistic movements of our recent art. The extreme twist of the shoulders and arms alter the body construction and offers a double perception of the image, offering immobility and
movement at the same time. It is not so easy to find an example of such a strong inventiveness among the few Mambila sculptures present even in the most renowned collection