Primitive figural wooden sculpture, Italy, 1970s

Dimensions
   

Primitive figural wooden sculpture, Italy, 1970s.

The tall, rounded form reads as a veiled figure, with a carved and inlaid motif at the center. It narrows into a stem that ends on a small footed base, giving the piece a standing presence. The construction shows panels joined from different woods, with visible variation in color and grain between the darker outer form and the warmer stem. The surface retains light marks of handling.

Figures of this kind recur throughout the work of Luciano Bertolotto, known as Pompi, who shaped people, masks, and totems from wood that already had a history.