Sénoufo "Maternité" - Sculpture - Senufo - Côte d’Ivoire

Superbe statue Sénoufo "Maternité":

This is a statue representing a woman seated on a stool and nursing a newborn. This statue bears the characteristics of Senoufo sculpture: a phototype giving the impression of the flow of anterior anatomical elements toward the front and downwards: the face has a very long snout projecting forward and downward.

Hair styled in a median crest, anteroposterior.

Ears detached with three horizontal scarifications near each lateral corner of the mouth. These bilateral scarifications evoke the couple of primordial twins.

Very good overall condition, worm-eaten in places, some losses but superb conservation for its age.
Senoufo work in Ivory Coast, Early 20th century.
Dimensions: 20 cm in diameter, 80 cm in height.

Origin: private collection.

Topo on the Senoufos:

The Senoufos (Senufo - Siéna):

There are about three million of them, living in a broad geographic area distributed between the south of Mali in the Sikasso region, the southwest of Burkina Faso, Ghana and the north of Côte d'Ivoire.

They are known for their sculptural works: carved doors, masks, large ritual statues called “pombibele” used during funerals by initiates of the Poro secret society.

The Senoufos also produce maternity statues and various ceremonial and secular utilitarian or decorative objects such as chairs, canes and painted textiles.

The Senoufos are primarily farmers growing yams (a climbing plant in tropical regions yielding edible tubers), manioc (a tropical plant in the euphorbiaceae family whose edible root is used to make flour, tapioca), millet (a small-grained cereal) and rice (a cereal of the grass family).

They believe in a creator god named “Koulotiolo”; he is inaccessible, but each village has its regenerating mother “Katiéléo” accessible through an initiatory process called “Poro.” This process is divided into three phases, each lasting seven years.

The first phase of Poro is called “Poworo,” for boys aged 7 to 12 who must be initiated into agriculture and Senoufo mythology. The second phase “Kwonro” includes military, liturgical teachings and dances. The third phase “Tyologo” concerns adults; it is divided into twelve steps, the last being the “Kafo.”

Source: www.aly-abbara.com/museum