Figure
Mount: 9 × 4 × 4 inches (22.86 × 10.16 × 10.16 cm)
Jean Willy Mestach (1926-2014), Brussels, Belgium [1];
With Harvey (1930-1982) and Anuschka Menist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, by April 17, 1979 [2];
With Alain Naoum (b. 1966), Brussels, Belgium, after 1987 [3];
Private collection, France [4];
With Marc Leo Félix, Brussels, Belgium, no. FX96416, by November 1996 [5];
Purchased from Félix by Donald (1927-2007) and Sally (1930-2017) Tranin, no. 127, Kansas City, MO, December 15, 1996;
By descent to their son, Ed Tranin, Leawood, KS, and their daughter, Laura Tranin, Seattle, WA, by 2013;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2013.
NOTES:
[1] See Tribal Art from Various Sources (London: Christie’s, 1996), 34.
[2] According to the African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre database, www.ahdrc.eu, object no. 0040948, this figure was included in an exhibition of new acquisitions by Harvey and Anuschka Menist, April 17-May 7, 1979.
[3] According to the African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre database (see note 1), object no. 0009369, Alain Naoum began dealing in African art in 1987.
[4] According to Marc Leo Félix, in documentation provided at the time of the object’s purchase, NAMA curatorial files. The identity of the collection is currently unknown.
[5] This figure was offered for sale at Tribal Art, Christie’s London, June 24, 1996, lot 119, but failed to sell. Félix's stock number is written on the back of the figure.
