A large female guardian Senufo

A large female guardian Senufo sculpture from the Region of Korogho, village Tingrela, related to the well known Rhythm Pounders or "Deblé", standing on a cylindrical base, carrying a double-edged knife in the left hand and a fetish bell in the right hand. On the top of the head sits a plaque attachment with an X carved out in the middle. The plaque attachment means that the object plays a double role: First it is a field guard and second it plays a ceremonial role. Heavy hard "Lenke" wood (not a Senari a Djula word), on the plaque small remnants of white pigments.

. The object functions both as a rhythm-pounder (déblé, used in Poro performance) and as a shrine or field guardian; several published examples bear a superstructure or plaque on the head that signals this dual role.Brooklyn Museum+1

Materials and surface. Carved from local hardwood and darkened by ritual handling and age; surfaces frequently bear a burnished patina, traces of soil, ochre or sacrificial residue, and wear on the arms and head consistent with repetitive handling and pounding. Several published pieces are described specifically as having fine blackened patina and traces of ritual use.Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+1

Provenance note. Museum and dealer records indicate multiple variant spellings of the place-name (Tingrla, Tingréla, Tengréla) and village-level attributions such as Nafoungolo or Korhogo-region localities in published provenance statements. Gallery catalogues sometimes list former owners or regional collectors (for example: provenance recorded from Belo Mohamed Garba, Korhogo). Provenance chains for market examples are documented in specialist gallery entries and in museum accession records.Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+2Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+2

Interpretation. Figures termed déblé perform a double register of meaning: materially they operate in performance as rhythm-pounders—objects held and struck to mark dance rhythms during Poro ceremonies and funerary observances—and socially they operate as protective or mediating presences within shrines and cultivated fields. The Tingrla-associated examples register a high degree of formal abstraction that emphasizes bodily zones (navel, hands, coiffure) important to Senufo cosmologies; the presence of an added head-plate or plaque in some examples signals an expanded ritual agency, linking the embodied figure to visible emblems of place-protection or ancestral power. Scholarly and museum treatments therefore emphasise both the performative biography (wear from use) and the shrine biography (attachments, accretions, ownership marks) when interpreting such objects.

Select published examples and repositories. The following institutions and specialist publications have published or exhibited Senufo guardian figures and rhythm-pounders attributed to northern Senufo localities (including Tingrla / Tingréla): Cleveland Museum of Art (major exhibition and catalogue on Senufo art); Brooklyn Museum (object records for déblé figures); Allen Art Collection, Oberlin College (Rhythm Pounder entry); Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac (exhibition programmes and catalogues including Senufo master sculptures); and specialist dealer / gallery catalogues and object entries such as those published by Wolfgang Jaenicke Galerie (which lists Tingrela-provenanced examples). These institutional records provide photographs, dimensions, condition notes, and provenance statements useful for catalogue entries.Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+4Cleveland Museum of Art+4Brooklyn Museum+4

Senufo guardian (déblé). Tingrla (village Nafoungolo), northern Côte d’Ivoire. Mid–20th century. Hardwood, darkened patina; traces of handling and soil; head-plate attachment; surface scarification around navel. Height: 158.8 cm (example scale). Provenance: acquired from Belo Mohamed Garba, Korhogo region; in trade; comparable published examples in the Brooklyn Museum and Allen Art Collection. Interpretation: rhythm-pounder/shrine guardian combining performative function in Poro ritual with protective, place-bound agency; formal features (elongated torso, emphasized navel, head plaque) index both aesthetic ideals and shrine-signalling functions. Footnotes and documentary references follow.Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+2Brooklyn Museum+2

Footnotes.

1. Cleveland Museum of Art, exhibition “Senufo: Art and Identity in West Africa” (exhibition pages and press material). Cleveland Museum of Art+1

2. Brooklyn Museum, object record: “Rhythm Pounder (Siibele)” and “Rhythm Pounder (Déblé) with Male Figure” (catalogue entries and measurement data). Brooklyn Museum+1

3. Allen Art Collection, Oberlin College, object record “Rhythm Pounder” (object number and dimensions; accession information). Allen Memorial Art Museum

4. Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac, exhibition pages and catalogue programme on West African sculpture and “masters of sculpture” presentations. Quai Branly+1

5. Wolfgang Jaenicke Galerie, catalogue/object pages for Tingrela-provenanced Senufo guardian figures and rhythm-pounders (example entries with village-level attributions Nafoungolo, Korhogo region). Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+2Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke+2

If you approve this draft I will convert the suggested short catalogue entry into your exact plain-text catalogue layout (single-line object title, one-line provenance, single paragraph description, measurements line, materials line, condition line, one-line interpretive note, and numbered footnotes

Height: 117 cm
Weight: 9,2 kg