Senufo Female Maternity Figure Cote d'Ivoire

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. Soon after artists and others of the avant-garde began collecting Senufo art. Female figures appear during different ceremonies, and unless one knows the specific context of the figure it is often difficult to name the specific use and name of the figure.

The Senufo live in the Ivory-Coast and southern Mali in small villages supporting themselves primarily as farmers. Though generally independent, the villages are joined through a shared men's secret society known as Poro or Pondo, which is responsible for the initiation of young boys and men and for instruction in the religious wisdom and knowledge of the bush spirits. Masks and figures mainly serve the Poro society.