Senoufo female statuette, Ivory Coast - Lot 126

Lot n° 126
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Estimation :
1000 - 1800 EUR
Senoufo female statuette, Ivory Coast - Lot 126
Senoufo female statuette, Ivory Coast Wood H. 24 cm The Senoufo, who live in a wooded savannah region, comprise some thirty sub-groups with different dialects. Their territory covers a vast area known as the "three borders", stretching from the north of Côte d'Ivoire to the south-west of Burkina Faso and the south-east of Mali. Senoufo community life is governed by several secret initiation societies, which play a fundamental role. They act as a social cement, guaranteeing group cohesion and ensuring the continuity of ancestral values and traditions, thanks to the cult statues that play both a didactic and symbolic role during important ritual ceremonies. Among them, the Tyekpa society, a female branch of the Poro found only among the Sénoufo Fodonon of south-west Korhogo, based on the notion of secrecy, "excludes those who are not in it and, in this way, [...] segments the social order, which facilitates its preservation." (Glaze in Barbier, 1993, vol. I, p. 44). Linked to divinatory cults or rituals performed within the sacred grove, female statues, depending on their morphology and size, play a fundamental role in various cults. Their omnipresent representations in Senoufo statuary, affirming "the principle of the primacy of women is not limited to their biological aspect alone, but also concerns their redemptive role and salvific power" (Glaze, in Barbier-Mueller, Art of Côte d'Ivoire, 1993, p. 42), serve as vital communication links with the spiritual universe. Smaller statues, measuring between 20 and 50 cm according to Gottschalk (Gottschalk, 2009, p. 30), such as this example, are generically known as túgubèlè, a name that also refers to bush spirits or genies. The suppleness of the silhouette and the dynamics of movement are accentuated and revealed by the lines, the arrangement of the body's elements, and the skilful interplay of empty and full spaces, notably between the bust, stomach and arms. Curves and angles respond to each other and marry to create a rhythm. Angular shapes assert themselves: the chin, the small, flattened triangular breasts, the prominent belly, the sagittal headdress. The secondary volumes of the shoulders, pelvis and top of the skull, all rounded, gently counterbalance the angular rigor, giving the whole a lovely harmony that goes beyond rhythm.
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