This female statue originates from the Chamba people, living in Nigeria’s Middle Benue region. Wooden figures in use among this culture are characterized by their columnar treatment of the body and this female statue is no exception. The arms are carved in raised relief on the elongated torso, as are the shoulders, breasts and female genitalia. The head’s conical headdress probably represents a tall, flat-topped hairstyle once in fashion among Chamba women. The large C-shaped ears are a hallmark element of the local sculptural iconography. Such figures once provided cult practitioners with a focal point so that a specific power might be disposed to react favorably to petitions. Such please would be accompanied by offerings made with appropriate ritual formalism. Indeed, years of applications of oils mixed with powdered red ochre cover the sculpture throughout. If not used by cults, such figures were found in ancestral shrines. Notwithstanding their high degree of stylization, suggestions have been made the statue once represented specific ancestors. With its strong architectural interpretation of the human body, it should be no surprise Kees van Strien was drawn to this singular statue.