Kiprop Langat (b. 1990)
Standing Figure (Ember), 2023
Charred cypress
182 × 34 × 30 cm
Estimate KES 600,000–900,000
Bidding
Sold
KES 900,000
Hammer price. Buyer's premium of 20% and VAT on the premium are added.
Bids · 19
- KES 900,000 Paddle 152 In the room 10:47
- KES 850,000 Paddle 472 In the room 10:47
- KES 800,000 Paddle 168 In the room 10:47
- KES 750,000 Paddle 154 In the room 10:47
- KES 700,000 Paddle 335 In the room 10:46
- KES 650,000 Paddle 152 In the room 10:46
- KES 600,000 Paddle 284 In the room 10:46
- KES 550,000 Paddle 234 In the room 10:46
- KES 500,000 Paddle 184 In the room 10:46
- KES 480,000 Paddle 271 In the room 10:46
- KES 460,000 Paddle 114 In the room 10:46
- KES 440,000 Paddle 404 In the room 10:46
- KES 420,000 Paddle 487 In the room 10:46
- KES 400,000 Paddle 271 In the room 10:46
- KES 380,000 Paddle 386 In the room 10:46
- KES 360,000 Paddle 147 In the room 10:46
- KES 340,000 Paddle 343 In the room 10:46
- KES 320,000 Paddle 200 In the room 10:46
- KES 300,000 Paddle 120 In the room 10:46
About the work
Carved from a single cypress trunk felled near Eldoret, then charred and brushed back by hand until the grain shows silver through the black. At a little over head height, the figure narrows to a face that is little more than a brow, the line of a nose and two cuts for eyes, and it leans very slightly forward.
Condition
Very good. Fine natural checks in the wood, as made. The charred surface is stable and sealed.
Provenance
Acquired from the artist, 2023; private collection, Nairobi.
The artist
Langat carves standing forms from felled cypress, then chars the surface with fire and brushes it back, until the wood is matt black with a faint silver grain. The figures are tall and narrow, never quite human, and are often shown in pairs. He grew up near Eldoret, where his father farmed timber, and he still cuts every log himself.
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