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Description

A cane knob, a badge of authority, representing an important figure. Representing a seated dignitary, ornamented and scarred on the face, neck and body, he holds a young girl in front of him by the waist, described in the literature as either an assistant or a child. With her arms raised and holding an object on her head, in this case a casket or footrest evoking wealth and prestige, she is both an assistant and a child. Embodied by a prepubescent girl who has not yet settled down, this "spiritual messenger" protects this dignitary from witchcraft "by the mystical force of her purity" and opens the way for him by introducing beauty into the assemblies. Timothy Garrard explains that the headdress, which may have contributed to the confusion and is often described as a Western contribution, as is the treatment of the moustache and beard, is in fact a woven straw boater that the Akyé made before the arrival of Europeans. It is therefore undoubtedly a very ancient Akyé chief, not a representation of a Portuguese or other Westerner, and certainly the portrait of an eminent historical or legendary figure whose memory has been sadly lost over the centuries of the history of the Akyé people. Indeed, this ivory cane knob, undoubtedly the oldest in a series (constituting a corpus of a dozen works according to François Neyt), the carving of which spans several centuries, is the source of all the others, the "mother object". This corpus of well-identified objects carved in ivory, with its characteristic typology, has long attracted the attention of many specialists and art historians. Of the three examples exhibited at the Smithsonian in Washington during the Treasures exhibition in 2008, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, and although they are not as old as the one in the Jean Roudillon collection, the ones from the Laura and James Ross collection are particularly noteworthy, forming a male and female pair and thus completing the information on a couple and not just on the portrait of a former dignitary whose memory these knobs commemorate. It must have been an important personage, historical or mythological, for this archetype to serve as a model for other cane knobs carved over as many generations, and a careful reading of the oldest of them all allows us to remove certain doubts and attempt to trace the thread of history. It's hardly surprising that this knob from the Jean Roudillon collection previously came from the Roger Bédiat collection, the source of so many masterpieces and the most important early collection of Ivory Coast art. This collection was inventoried and appraised by Jean Roudillon in 1962. This sculpture is fascinating in more ways than one, sublime in its detail and antiquity, it not only radiates beauty, it illuminates the past and the future, and is unquestionably one of the finest jewels in Jean Roudillon's collection. Attié (Akyé), Ivory Coast. 18th century or earlier. Ivory, significant age desiccation of the ivory, small visible lack at the cap (old breakage) and probable restoration of a small breakage at the front of the canotier, slight age cracks, visible restoration of a small lack at the front of the base of the pommel, otherwise excellent condition, superb old patina, presented on a red stone base. H. 13.6 cm See pp. 75, 78-79 and 81 for three examples from the same corpus in: Treasures 2008, Sharon F. Patton Brina M. Freyer, Smithsonian - Ed. National Museum of African Art Washington 2008. For two other examples from the former Joseph Mueller collection, both acquired before 1939 and 1942, see pp. 175 and 176 in: Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire Tome 2, Ed. Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva 1993. Provenance : - Roger Bédiat Collection - Jean Roudillon Collection Publications : - Art d'Afrique No. 53 Spring 1985 p. 53 for an advertisement by Jean Roudillon - Tribal Art magazine n° 82, Winter 2016 p. 43 for an advertisement by Jean Roudillon.

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A cane knob, a badge of authority, representing an important figure. Representing a seated dignitary, ornamented and scarred on the face, neck and body, he holds a young girl in front of him by the waist, described in the literature as either an assistant or a child. With her arms raised and holding an object on her head, in this case a casket or footrest evoking wealth and prestige, she is both an assistant and a child. Embodied by a prepubescent girl who has not yet settled down, this "spiritual messenger" protects this dignitary from witchcraft "by the mystical force of her purity" and opens the way for him by introducing beauty into the assemblies. Timothy Garrard explains that the headdress, which may have contributed to the confusion and is often described as a Western contribution, as is the treatment of the moustache and beard, is in fact a woven straw boater that the Akyé made before the arrival of Europeans. It is therefore undoubtedly a very ancient Akyé chief, not a representation of a Portuguese or other Westerner, and certainly the portrait of an eminent historical or legendary figure whose memory has been sadly lost over the centuries of the history of the Akyé people. Indeed, this ivory cane knob, undoubtedly the oldest in a series (constituting a corpus of a dozen works according to François Neyt), the carving of which spans several centuries, is the source of all the others, the "mother object". This corpus of well-identified objects carved in ivory, with its characteristic typology, has long attracted the attention of many specialists and art historians. Of the three examples exhibited at the Smithsonian in Washington during the Treasures exhibition in 2008, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, and although they are not as old as the one in the Jean Roudillon collection, the ones from the Laura and James Ross collection are particularly noteworthy, forming a male and female pair and thus completing the information on a couple and not just on the portrait of a former dignitary whose memory these knobs commemorate. It must have been an important personage, historical or mythological, for this archetype to serve as a model for other cane knobs carved over as many generations, and a careful reading of the oldest of them all allows us to remove certain doubts and attempt to trace the thread of history. It's hardly surprising that this knob from the Jean Roudillon collection previously came from the Roger Bédiat collection, the source of so many masterpieces and the most important early collection of Ivory Coast art. This collection was inventoried and appraised by Jean Roudillon in 1962. This sculpture is fascinating in more ways than one, sublime in its detail and antiquity, it not only radiates beauty, it illuminates the past and the future, and is unquestionably one of the finest jewels in Jean Roudillon's collection. Attié (Akyé), Ivory Coast. 18th century or earlier. Ivory, significant age desiccation of the ivory, small visible lack at the cap (old breakage) and probable restoration of a small breakage at the front of the canotier, slight age cracks, visible restoration of a small lack at the front of the base of the pommel, otherwise excellent condition, superb old patina, presented on a red stone base. H. 13.6 cm See pp. 75, 78-79 and 81 for three examples from the same corpus in: Treasures 2008, Sharon F. Patton Brina M. Freyer, Smithsonian - Ed. National Museum of African Art Washington 2008. For two other examples from the former Joseph Mueller collection, both acquired before 1939 and 1942, see pp. 175 and 176 in: Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire Tome 2, Ed. Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva 1993. Provenance : - Roger Bédiat Collection - Jean Roudillon Collection Publications : - Art d'Afrique No. 53 Spring 1985 p. 53 for an advertisement by Jean Roudillon - Tribal Art magazine n° 82, Winter 2016 p. 43 for an advertisement by Jean Roudillon.

Estimate 30 000 - 50 000 EUR

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For sale on Thursday 06 Jun : 16:00 (CEST)
paris, France
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+33153407710

Exhibition of lots
jeudi 06 juin - 11:00/12:00, Salle 9 - Hôtel Drouot
mercredi 05 juin - 11:00/18:00, Salle 9 - Hôtel Drouot
mardi 04 juin - 11:00/18:00, Salle 9 - Hôtel Drouot
lundi 03 juin - 11:00/18:00, Salle 9 - Hôtel Drouot
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