Senufo Maternity Figure on Custom Base Côte d'Ivoire

This expressive female figure with a child is from the Senufo people of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), Mali, and Burkina Faso. It is very well carved with the hallmarks of classic Senufo sculpture in terms of details and style. She has classic Senufo features enhanced by complex scarification on her face and the front and back of her body and wears a well-defined coiffure. The figure depicts a mature woman in her prime as evident from her jutting breasts, scarification markings, and well-defined thighs and hips. Her hairstyle is typical of Senufo and represents a stylized bird, one of the five primordial creatures in the Senufo pantheon. The face is an abstract classic with subtle and beautifully designed features an elegant long nose elegant facial markings and a mouth that is quietly defined. She has an elaborate hairstyle and an elegant curve to her back. The surface is worn and shows some age. Whatever her use and ceremonial appearance she is a beautifully carved figure reflecting the skill and aesthetic sensibilities of the Senufo carver.

Figures such as this may have been commissioned by the male ‚ÄòPoro Society' or the female‚ (Tykepa) Society, both of which were concerned with initiations, funerals, and social control. She may also have been a Yasungo, a shrine figure, or one of a male-female pair representing the first couple known as ‚Kasingele. She sits in quiet dignity holding a figure that can be either a child or a surrogate symbol for the village and its population that she nurtures and sustains.