Tribal Art

The face is imbued with solemnity for this female figure with a neck and tubular limbs, as if frozen in a seated posture, supporting with her clasped hands the child clinging to her back. This piece was probably dedicated to a family liturgical practice, in relation to fertility. Thick blackish patina, residual crusty deposits. One foot is missing. The Senoufo, the name given to them by the French colonists, are mainly composed of farmers who are scattered between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Councils of elders, led by an elected chief, administer Senoufo villages. Governed by matrilineal traditions, they are composed of clusters of dwellings named katiolo. Each has its own Poro association that initiates young boys from the age of seven in a succession of three cycles lasting seven years . They gather in a sacred enclosure called sinzanga located near the village, among the trees.