ETHNIC ITEMS

Other

CARVED AFRICAN 2 HEADED MONKEY

When I bought this monkey in about 1969 it had
a label attached which stated :-

                    "Bicephalous Monkey
This is no more than a jeu d'esprit making clever use of the contrasting heart and sapwood.
The long arms and twin head seem intended to convey the rapid movement characteristic of monkeys.
Carved by Jallon Like Sikoka, a self taught Barotze (Barotse) craftsman, who was for some years woodwork instructor at St. Marks College.  He used mostly tools made by himself, but liked to borrow a chisel to finish his work."

I do not know the age of this piece but would guess about 1930's.
It comes from Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, where I was raised for the first three years of my life on my parent's Mission Station at Khaba Hill.

It measures 13½ inches high and 5½ inches from one nose to the other.