EBK 0314-1 – SOLD

Senufo Standing Male Figure on Stand, Ivory Coast

H: 28 cm (11″)

This is a marvelously carved male figure from the Senufo people ‘Poro Society’ in Ivory Coast in wood. It has black patina, schematized forms of body and face, carved with bracelets and necklace and a striking hat of Sudanic origin. The hat identifies the figure as a champion cultivator “sambali”, a title given to those whose strength, perseverance and willingness to endure pain during countless hoeing contests have earned them the most prestigious honour a man can achieve. The figure would have belonged to a woman “sando” diviner as a luxury sculpture, for praise the tutelary spirits strength and superior powers.

The art of the Senufo was some of the earliest recognized and collected in Europe and French colonial authorities recognized the quality of the objects and brought them back to France where artists and others of the avant-garde began collecting Senufo art. This figure has all the hallmarks of a classic Senufo sculpture in terms of details and the appearance of a well-used surface of the figure.

Literature:
Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d’ Ivoire, Vol II, Genève 1993, p. 26, ill. 23
Glaze, Anita J. “Art and Death in a Senufo Village. 1981.Forster, T., Die Kunst Der Senufo, Museum Reitberg Zurich. 1988.

Age: Est. mid 20th Century.

Provenance: Old French Collection

Click here for more information about the Senufo people

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