A female Senufo figure from Ivory Coast

A female Senufo figure from Ivory Coast, Korhogo region, sitting on a four-legged stool, her feet hang off the ground, a cylindrical torso with a protruding navel and conical breasts with three vertical scarifications on both of them, the thin arms extend from the shoulders and are carved in open work close to the body, armlets and bracelets at the elongated arms, a necklace with a triangular pendant at the neck, a columnar neck supports a large head, a pointed mouth beneath an elongated, slender nose, which is framed by crescent-shaped eyes, a threeparted, domed coiffure, starting in a knot on top of the forehead and extends to the neck, signs of ritual use, which is particularly expressed in a touch patina on the arms and the neck of the sculpture. Certificate of origin and provenance.  

“The Senufo produce a rich variety of sculptures, mainly associated with the Poro society. The sculptors and metalsmiths, endogamous groups responsible for making the cult objects live on their own in a separate part of the village. The attitude shown toward them by other Senufo is a mixture of fear and respect, owing to their privileged relationship with the natural forces that they are capable of channelling in a sculpture. During initiations, headpieces are worn that have a flat, vertical, round or rectangular board on top decorated with paint or pierced work. Many wood carvings of male figures depict these headpieces, sometimes on rhythm pounders used by young initiates, who beat the earth to call upon the ancestors to take part in the ceremony and purify the earth. The carvers also produce ritual female statues, including mother-and-child figures, as well as statuettes depicting bush spirits and supernatural beings and equestrian figures. Large statues representing hornbills (often seen also on masks) and used in the lo society as symbols of fertility are the standing birds called porpianong. Figures of the hornbill are used in initiation, and groups of birds on a pole are trophies for the best farmer. Figures of male and female twins and of horsemen are used in divination. These represent the spirit familiars enabling the divination process. The diviners themselves are women, forming the sandogo society. Shrine doors and drums are carved in relief, and small figures and ritual rings are cast in bronze.”
Source: African Art Museum

Height: 103 cm
Weight: 4,4 kg