POSTURES AND GESTURES OF AFRICAN IRON FIGURINES

After seven years of studying and writing, collector and specialist in African art Frank Eerhart has completed his second book about metal objects originating from various West African communities. Following on ‘The Power of Iron in Africa’ (2012), this volume discusses and analyses the use, meaning, and function of these iron figurines, and presents 150 recent specimens in its exploration of the symbolism behind them. Eerhart’s fascination with their purely conceptual forms also serves to question the ways in which these traditional objects can be related to the iconography of statues from ancient cultures, in addition to whether they should be considered ethnographic items.