A fragmentary male Bété sculpture, Ivory Coast, fragmentary feet, very powerful short legs, well emphasized genitalia, a slender torso with a pointed navel, prominent buttocks, muscular arms bent in front of the abdomen, accentuated pectoral muscles and shoulder blade, an elongated cylindrical neck supporting a large spherical head, a half-opened mouth with carved rows of pointy teeth, a triangular nose framed by deep-set, bulging eyes, disc-shaped ears with an embedded triangle, capped by a fine striated comb-like coiffure; blackened to brownish patina, traces of age and ritual use, the left foot is missing, the right fragmentary, incl. stand.

The Bété live in central western Côte d'Ivoire, on the left bank of the Sassandra River. Cultural and commercial exchanges between the Bété and their neighbors, notably the Dan and the Baoulé, influenced the artistic production of these peoples. At the confluence of these styles imposes this masculine figure whose revered status is expressed in the sculptural power of the pronounced musculature. The legs, proportionally short, announce a torso with exacerbated manhood.

Gottschalk, Kunst aus Schwartz-Afrika, 2007, vol. 2, p. 140 - 145; Schaedler, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, 1994, p. 79

sold

Height: 26 cm
Weight: 5,7 kg