Any ideas of age and origin please?

[groom]

I wonder why his head is in his hands.

Perhaps he has just lost his wrestling match. 

Yours has obviously been well loved and handled, GS. Now you need to work out how it came to be in the family. Did anyone serve in the far east during the war - my uncle bought back a lot of souvenirs from India? 

[youngtug]

If you look at the side view it is impossible for his fingertips to be on his forehead, but they are. A little artistic licence or just not able to get the flow of the wood and the carving to come together just right. Wether he is a sumo wrestler I'm not sure, the fundoshi he is wearing was standard dress.

[John915]

Good evening,

Glad to help, and I would agree that yours looks a little better. The one in my link has a value on it of $20 but it has a hairline crack. So yours isn't going to supply you with a pension but is worth more than that.

It is definately a sumo wrestler if the one in the link is identified as such. Only the most experienced heavyweights look like they should lay off the cream buns. There are several classes from the beginners upwards. I think also that the "helmet " is possibly a cloth of some sort over his head as they wear their hair in a top knot.

John915

[youngtug]

It is definately a sumo wrestler if the one in the link is identified as such.

John915

It is only the opinion of the shop owner [Etsy]

[Wiggy]

Just marking to follow this thread. 

Lovely smooth looking object for holding!

Wiggy 

[msr]

May I offer another possibility?

Imagine Ancient Egypt.   Servants/slaves being entombed with their dead king.

You would hold your head in you hands wouldn't you?

It looks as though he has some sort of headdress on, a cloth perhaps.
And the marks on his back could be weals from whippings suffered.

Only grasping at straws here.

[Greensleeves]

That is a very good point,  msr .....  The stance does seem to represent some kind of distress and it could well be an attitude of mourning.  I had originally thought that the headgear was a helmet but then, with the ears uncovered, that doesn't make sense, as has been pointed out.  But if it was cloth that would make more sense.

[Sinann]

I bought one of these a few years ago as a Christmas gift, it was new and I got it in a charity shop selling African crafts, I'd need to see it again to be sure but I think the Sumo look is missing it's just a guy in that pose, so it must be a quite well known image.

[Greensleeves]

That's interesting Sinann.... would be rather nice if we could line up all the samples and see how similar they are!  As you say it could be a much-copied pose.  Mine certainly looks oriental rather than African but it could have come from anywhere!

Regards
GS