Silver, Victorian Furniture, Murano Glass & Beswick Pottery Auction | Studio Ceramics & Antiques
Lot 464: A Pair of East African Makonde Style Carved Ebony Wood Bookends
A pair of hand-carved decorative bookends in the Makonde style of East Africa, likely from Tanzania or Kenya. Each bookend is carved from a dense, dark hardwood resembling ebony and depicts a stylised, elongated reclining male figure. The figures feature detailed facial carving including a beard and expressive eyes, with anatomical details such as a prominent ribcage and thin limbs rendered in a caricature-like quality. Each figure rests against a flat base, and the upright support of each bookend is decorated with a textured, cross-hatched pattern. One bookend retains a printed auction house label for HCP Auctions South West, Lot 464, and a handwritten label marked 9371.
Length: approximately 33 cm.
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