Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire, 19th century
Cast copper alloy
Height 3 inches (7.6 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, London
The figure stands frontally with the legs set slightly apart and the arms held free of the body, the hands open at the thighs and the feet cast as broad flat pads with the toes marked. A crest rises from the crown in a raised ridge that runs front to back and finishes in small points above the brow, and the face is worked with a long ridged nose, raised eyes, and a projecting mouth beneath a pointed chin. Bands sit at the throat, above each elbow, and at both ankles, a raised boss marks the navel above a beaded waist cord, and the metal has taken a dark brown surface that holds lighter wear on the crest, the shoulders, and the knees.
Cast figures of this size were personal objects among the Senufo of northern Côte d'Ivoire, carried or worn rather than kept on a shrine, and they occur in both male and female form. The ornament shown at the neck, arms, and ankles records what the wearer would have worn in life, so the casting works as a record of dress as much as of the body. Detail this fine at three inches depends on the wax model rather than on any work after casting, and the crest, the hands, and all four bands are intact.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Senufo, Côte d'Ivoire, 19th century
Cast copper alloy
Height 3 inches (7.6 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, London
The figure stands frontally with the legs set slightly apart and the arms held free of the body, the hands open at the thighs and the feet cast as broad flat pads with the toes marked. A crest rises from the crown in a raised ridge that runs front to back and finishes in small points above the brow, and the face is worked with a long ridged nose, raised eyes, and a projecting mouth beneath a pointed chin. Bands sit at the throat, above each elbow, and at both ankles, a raised boss marks the navel above a beaded waist cord, and the metal has taken a dark brown surface that holds lighter wear on the crest, the shoulders, and the knees.
Cast figures of this size were personal objects among the Senufo of northern Côte d'Ivoire, carried or worn rather than kept on a shrine, and they occur in both male and female form. The ornament shown at the neck, arms, and ankles records what the wearer would have worn in life, so the casting works as a record of dress as much as of the body. Detail this fine at three inches depends on the wax model rather than on any work after casting, and the crest, the hands, and all four bands are intact.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
