Senufo Horse Riding Figure Cote D'Ivoire African Art

Type of Object
Carving, Figure, Statue, Sculpture
Country of Origin
Cote D’Ivoire
People
Senufo, Korogo Area
Materials
Wood, stain and pigment
Approximate Age
Mid-Early 20th century
Height (in)
11.25
Width (in)
6
Depth (in)
2
Overall Condition
Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage/Repair
Small chip on the foot of the rider; see photos for more details.
Additional Information:
This exceptional maternity figure reflects a tradition of sculpture fixed in core Senufo beliefs expressed in symbolic form. The Senufo society is matrineal and maternity figures such as this are frequently carved and represent primordial ancestor, the mother of the village or Kan Tyeleo, the main deity of the Poro society. The children are compared to the Poro initiates. And Kan Tyeleo has the ultimate role to “spiritually” nourish the initiates and also protect the community. Kan Tyeleo is also a guarantor of the community unit.
“Figures of a rider on horseback are common in Senufo art, both among wood sculpture and brass-castings. They represent a bush spirit, mandeo (plural: mandebele), or tugu (plural: tugubele), on his steed, and were usually kept on a personal shrine or used as an aid by the diviner. Castings of this subject, though of grossly inferior quality, are still sold for traditional use in many Senufo village markets. They exist both in brass and aluminium.
The horse, though not native to the region, is an animal with which the Senufo have been familiar for centuries. It was associated with speed, swiftness, dignity and prestige, but also with violence and disorder, having been used in pre-colonial times by the warriors and slave-raiders who preyed on the Senufo. Its appearance as a mount for the bush spirits perhaps reflects their ambivalent nature as beings potentially good or harmful, who required to be placated and appeased.” (Barbier-Mueller Museum www.barbier-mueller.ch)
tb1022
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