Djenne statue, Mali Terracotta H. 26 cm... - Lot 48 - De Baecque et Associés

Lot 48
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Estimation :
2000 - 4000 EUR
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Result : 4 200EUR
Djenne statue, Mali Terracotta H. 26 cm... - Lot 48 - De Baecque et Associés
Djenne statue, Mali Terracotta H. 26 cm Dating : XIIth-XVIth century (certificate of thermoluminescence Archelolabs laboratory N°FA-09-16-03-03-TL). Provenance : Gallery Renaud Vanuxem, Paris Acquired from the latter by the current owner, Belgian private collection Djenné sculpture, which appeared around 700 AD and developed until 1700, in the middle of the vast flood plain of the interior Niger delta, which extends over 160,000 square kilometers and is framed by the mighty Niger River and its tributary the Bani, represents the know-how, the restrained elegance and the poetry of an entire civilization. It is considered a "magnificent artistic style, a true gift of the river." (Bernard De Grunne) "The artistic style of Djenné-jeno is one of the greatest achievements to come out of the conceptual framework of the oikoumene of the Mande - a term as strong and multiple as its original Greek meaning, which refers to a 'civilized' world - whose center of gravity is the sacred hut of Kangaba, in southern Mali." (Bernard De Grunne) In 1943, Théodore Monod discovered a figurine of a kneeling woman on the site of Kaniana, two kilometers west of the town of Djenné-Jeno. From 1950 on, the first research was undertaken under the aegis of Louis Desplagnes. If the richness and diversity of the attitudes, gestures and iconographic details are typical of the Djenne statuary, this work corresponds remarkably well to the classical iconographic canons, but differs from them by its size, less imposing than usual, by its sensitive execution, by the intensity of the meditative pose, accentuated by the expressivity of the face with its powerful features in relief, by the gaze frozen towards the earth, by the hands placed delicately on the knee, in an attitude of veneration or touching prostration. Inscribed in a terracotta with fascinating nuances of tone, varying from ochre to yellow (on the ribs of the chest), with shades tending even towards a light gray, the large male figurine kneeling in a hieratic posture, imposes itself by its allure at once austere, powerful and solemn. The upper and lateral parts of the bust, the skull, and the arms are highlighted and invaded by snakes in relief, undulating. According to Bernard de Grunne, "human figures covered with snakes represented very important figures - notably kings, queens or chiefs, who had the power to command the snakes." (Bernard De Grunne, Djenne, Jeno. 1000 ans de sculpture de terre cuite au Mali, Brussels, Fonds Mercator, p. 38). If there are a number of sculptures with snakes, this one is among the most accomplished.
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