Kulango - Figure - Kulango - Kulango - Côte d’Ivoire

This bronze statuette of striking modernity, in a minimalist and refined style, is part of an eminently small corpus. The fluidity of the forms and the remarkable purity of the figurine, characterizes the play of tension and balance of Kulango art. To the fluidity of forms is added the remarkable artistic creation of the representation. In addition to its essential dynamics, the body unfolds in a game of tension and perfectly controlled balance, the triangular face with the ophidian aspect stretched forward.
See Ricqlès (Paris, 1 July 2001, no. 606) for a very comparable Kulango bronze in the collection of Hubert Goldet.
The Kulango originated in the northeastern part of Cote d'Ivoire near Bouna. They eventually occupied Bondoukou (south of Bouna) as well. Some have since moved across the border from Bondoukou into the central western regions of Ghana. The basic method of lost-wax casting has been widely practiced on the African continent for centuries. While it is difficult to establish how the method was developed or introduced to the region, it is clear that West African sculptors were casting brass with this method for several hundred years prior to the arrival of the first Portuguese explorers along the coast in 1484. The technique requires a great deal of skill, involving extensive knowledge of both pottery and metalworking, and careful attention to changing temperatures to prevent unwanted cracking or other damage to either the clay mold or to the metal sculpture during the casting process. Some of the earliest and most accomplished bronze works found in Africa date to the tenth century and are from a site called Igbo-Ukwu.

Provenance: Old French Collection