Senufo, Ivory Coast
Beginning 20th century
Wood
32,5 cm
Provenance
Louis Pieter Cornelis van Rijn, Amsterdam
Helmut e Marianne Zimmer, Swiss
Seated female figures, a recurrent theme in Senufo iconography, abound with symbolic visual references, such as the celebration of physical beauty, fertility, and the fundamental complementarity of the sexes in human activities. These statues appear during ceremonies accompanying the initiatory transitions within the Poro society and, placed at the centre of the dancers’ circle, become the focus of invocations and offerings from the newly initiated, the women who have accompanied them through the rites, and the elders of the community.
The hairstyle, the pronounced prognathism of the face, and the overall balance of forms and proportions that distinguish this exceptional sculpture suggest its origin in the stylistic centres of the upper Bagoé valley. In keeping with the most esteemed traditions of Senufo sculpture, the rhythm of the volumes is deliberately syncopated, and the sharp separations between them effectively emphasize the prominent features of the figure, such as the assertive posture of the head, the youthful exuberance of the breasts, and the dignified, authoritative stance of the torso. A beautiful devotional patina of deep black further highlights the sculpture’s clear geometry.
As often observed in similar works, the stool on which the young woman (pitya) is seated is integrated into the figure itself and shares with it the two front legs.The magnificent head is a consummate example of the finest Senufo style, which forgoes descriptive naturalism in favour of an almost abstract compositional freedom. The oversized volume of the head projects forward, while only the ears remain in anatomical position.
The face, though minimal in its rendering, emerges forcefully from the wide arc of the forehead that towers above it. The large, half-closed eyes and the small, tightly shut, protruding mouth confer both power and detachment to the expression.
