Senufo bronze - Figure - Côte d’Ivoire

The Senufo produce a rich variety of sculptures, mainly associated with the Poro society. The sculptors and metalsmiths, endogamous groups responsible for making the cult objects, live separately within the village. The attitude shown towards them by other Senufo is a mixture of fear and respect, due to their privileged relationship with natural forces that they can channel through sculpture. During initiations, headpieces are worn that feature a flat, vertical, round, or rectangular board on top, decorated with paint or pierced work. Many wood carvings of male figures depict these headpieces, sometimes on rhythm pounders used by young initiates, who beat the earth to summon ancestors to participate in the ceremony and purify the earth. The carvers also produce ritual female statues, including mother-and-child figures, as well as statuettes representing bush spirits, supernatural beings, and equestrian figures. Large statues representing hornbills—often seen on masks—and used in the lo society as symbols of fertility are the standing birds called porpianong. Figures of hornbills are used in initiation, and groups of birds on a pole serve as trophies for the best farmer. Figures of male and female twins and horsemen are used in divination, representing spirit familiars that enable the divination process. The diviners themselves are women, forming the sandogo society. Shrine doors and drums are carved in relief, and small figures and ritual rings are cast in bronze.

Provenance:

Montagut Collection, Barcelona