15 - Statuette Senoufo, Côte d’Ivoire

Statuette Senoufo, Côte d’Ivoire Wood H. 42 cm An indispensable classic of African art, the Senufo statues of Poro—both powerful and slender—possess a “universal and quintessential dimension” (Rubin 1987, p. 55). From the moment of their discovery, they occupied a prominent place in the collections of modern artists and became a source of inspiration, as evidenced by photographs taken in André Derain’s studio or in Georges Braque’s apartment. The Deble figures were carved in honor of the original ancestor. They were kept within the sinzanga, the sacred enclosure of the Poro, “the most important socio-religious institution among the Senufo” (Goldwater 1964, p. 9). The reverence for the primordial ancestor is reflected here in the figure’s hieratic, austere, and authoritative posture. The lower legs, with their angular, protruding knees, merge here into a cylindrical base. The intense, smooth, and glossy brown patina lightens to shades of mahogany and auburn at the abdomen, highlighting the particularly prominent navel area. The pectoral region, with its angular, triangular edges, is carved in slight relief. The slender arms, extending away from the body, end in hands with carefully rendered fingers delicately resting on the edge of the abdomen. The broad, cylindrical neck supports a conical head whose crest-shaped headdress, with curved lateral ends, cascades downward. The long, aquiline nose, connected to a central ridge on the forehead that rises to the top of the brow, divides and energizes the face; on either side are small, slanted eyes carved in slight relief. Provenance - Private collection, France - Galerie Philippe Ratton, Paris - Private collection, acquired from the previous owner - Private collection, Paris Expositions June 2013, Paris, Galerie Philippe Ratton, “Série noire,” reproduced in the catalog, pp. 28–29 Littérature Main bibliographic references cited: Robert Goldwater, Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, exhibition catalog [New York, Museum of Primitive Art, 1964], New York, 1964 William Rubin (ed.), Primitivism in 20th-Century Art, Paris, Flammarion, 1987 Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, Senufo Unbound: Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa, exhibition catalog [Cleveland Museum of Art, February 22–May 31, 2015; Saint Louis Art Museum, June 28–September 27, 2015; Musée Fabre, Montpellier, November 28, 2015–March 6, 2016], Cleveland, 2015