A Bamana N'jeleni sculpture from the Diola region

A Bamana N'jeleni sculpture, Mali, collected in the Diola region. Certificate of origin and provenance.

"In traditional African societies, a childless marriage is a grave problem that has serious repercussions on the relationships between wife, husband, and in-laws and on the village as a whole. Further, childlessness seems to be the wife’s problem to resolve. Women with fertility and child-bearing problems in Bamana society affiliate with Gwan, an association that is especially concerned with such problems. Women who avail themselves of its ministrations and who succeed in bearing children make extra sacrifices to Gwan, dedicate their children to it, and name them after the sculptures associated with the association. Gwan sculptures occur in groups and are normally enshrined. An ensemble includes a mother-and-child figure, the father, and several other male and female figures. They are considered to be extremely beautiful, and as “things that can be looked at without limit”, because they achieve the Bamana standard for sculpture: they illustrate ideals of physical beauty and ideals of character and action. The figures are brought out of the shrine to appear in annual public ceremonies. At such times, the figures are washed and oiled and then dressed in loincloths, head ties, and beads, all of which are contributed by the women of the village." source: Cultural Museum of African Arts(CMAAEEC)

Height: 72 cm
Weight: 6,7 kg