Senoufo statue, Ivory Coast Wood Dimensions: 95.5 x 17.5 x 14 cm Provenance: Van Bussel Collection, Amsterdam Van Bussel Collection, Amsterdam William Rubin, in his introduction to Primitivism in twentieth-century art 20th century art, describes how modern artists saw in the arts of Africa and Oceania a means of developing an art with a "universal and quintessential dimension" (1984, p. 55). Senoufo works were among the first objects to enter their collections. From the outset, they occupied a prominent place in their collections, as evidenced by photographs taken in André Derain's studio or Georges Braque's apartment. The limpidity of the formulas invented by the sculptors Senoufo sculptors influenced artistic research into modernity. The economy of line resonates in Giacometti's work. Fernand Léger's ballet sets are imbued with it. Kept in the sinzanga, the sacred enclosure of the Poro, "the most important socio-religious institution among the Senufo" (Goldwater, Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, 1964, p. 9), the large deble figures were sculpted in honor of the original ancestor. The virtues and qualities of the primordial ancestor shine through in this figure, the inwardness and contemplation signified by its half-closed eyes, magnified by beautiful superciliary arches. The slender, angular jaw reveals a small, pouting mouth with thin lips. The round forehead features a triangular crown, announcing a chignon-like headdress. To the refinement of her elementary lines, the fluidity of her movement and the powerful dynamic of her curving volumes, we add the ornamentation of her femininity, the scarification marks decorating her attributes, reinforcing the fertility symbolism of the ancestor depicted as having ensured the continuity of her lineage. In a subtle balance between naturalism and abstraction, the sculpture finally comes to life in the dynamics of volumes and the tension of convex and concave curves. From this rigor, the imperious presence of the primordial ancestor emerges with strength and peace. These large statues played an essential role in the rituals of the Poro initiation society. Whether during initiation ceremonies for young men or funerals for notables, they were animated to strike the ground to the rhythm of solemn chants. Our example stands out for its special treatment of the scarification marks surrounding its umbilicus, forming a schematized sun, for the arms serving as "handles", and for the remarkable sensitivity of its facial features.