A Senufo couple

A Senufo couple in shape of two Rhythmponder, - called Déblé - from the Tingrela region, Ivory Coast, a beautiful touchpatina, in particular at the arms, verifying a longlasting use.

This impressive pair of Senufo Déblé statues from the Tingréla region, Ivory Coast, carved from single lengths of dense hardwood and each standing over a meter tall, embody the refined sculptural tradition of the Senufo peoples. Depicting a male and female couple, the figures are rendered with serene almond-shaped eyes, carved necklaces, and low mohawk-like coiffures, their arms adorned with bracelets and bodies marked by carefully incised scarification patterns that signify beauty, identity, and spiritual strength. Such Déblé figures were traditionally used in Poro society rituals, where they served as intermediaries between the living and ancestral spirits, embodying ideals of harmony, fertility, and moral order within the community. The statues’ poised symmetry, smooth surfaces, and restrained detailing attest to the technical mastery and spiritual intentionality of Senufo carvers, whose works balanced aesthetic elegance with deep ritual purpose.

"In the mid- to late twentieth century, communities displayed pombibele as static works of sculpture and animated them in performance. The figures sometimes stood on the ground during a ceremony for a deceased poro elder or larger funerary ceremonies dedicated to all the deceased elders in a community. On other occasions, poro initiates carried pombibele as they walked, tapping the large figures on the ground. Rarer sculptures include the much admired large birds, reproductions of which today fill West African tourist markets. By the time Senufo arts captured scholarly attention in the West at the beginning of the twentieth century, artists and patrons had already created a wealth of forms to assert diverse local identities."
- Met Museum, NY.

Height: 104,5 cm / 107 cm
Weight: 10,3 kg / 13,77 kg