Haiti has a long tradition of recording commonplace events through the visual arts, such as this extraordinary sculpture. Hand carved of a single piece of mahogany, stained brown to reflect the African ethnicity of this tall beautiful woman, it bears the original polychrome paint. Having visited the marketplace with her red shoulder bag now full and her water gourd balanced on her head, she depicts what the artist saw as a slice of everyday Haitian life.
Barefoot, dressed in a knee length orange skirt, a green top and barefoot, she wears a black scarf that covers her hair. Her face is nicely carved, her soulful eyes especially well done. She stands unwavering on a round carved base painted black. PLEASE NOTE: While this large carving stands steady on a firm, flat surface, she is easily tipped over, whether she is bumped or the surface she is on is jarred. For this reason, we strongly recommend that it not be placed on or near anything breakable and that you use museum putty (such as Quakehold) on the bottom.
In its impressive height this statue measures a tad over 23 inches. The base is about 4 inches by 3 1/2 inches and the piece weighs about 4 pounds. It's in excellent condition, with a few short hairlines in the wood, but no cracks, chips or repairs and all the original paint intact and unretouched. On the bottom of the base are painted initials in black, which we have chosen to photograph as reading "WI", which might be the initials of the carver or may just represent "West Indies", (of course, turned the other way, they read "IM"). It's a one of a kind Haitian artwork, imposing in its sheer size and of notable artistry.
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