H x W x D: 28.6 x 7.3 x 7.6 cm (11 1/4 x 2 7/8 x 3 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Côte d'Ivoire
Date:
1920-1950
Label Text:
This small female shrine figure shares aesthetic characteristics with many neighboring peoples of Côte d'Ivoire. Because of the similarities between this figure's features and those of Anyi sculpture, it is likely of Abron, Bono or Brong origin. However, it could also originate from one of the northwest Lagoon peoples, Abidji, or Krobu, or from some of the small Mande speaking groups that surround the Baule, the Beng or Mwan.
Collectors often group these figures as “classic Kulango,” because at this point in time, there has been no documentation of sculpture in shrines in Bondouku or Bonoua. All extant figures seem to be the work of a single artist.
The use of the blue pigmentation in the figure's creases can reliably date the figure to 1920-1950, when European bluing agent, used as a laundry additive, arrived into the area.
Description:
Standing wood female figure, with truncated legs, crest hairstyle, flat face, sharply angled jaw, and eyes and hands accented in blue and white pigment. The figure is decorated with a red glass bead necklace, blue glass waist beads and a brass tack on the forehead and torso.
Provenance:
William Brill, New York, -- to 1969
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