A Senufo Guardian sculpture couple (propi:ibèlè), from the region Boudiali, village Tinguerela, standing on cylindrical bases, the female Guardian sculpture with pointed breasts and a crested coiffure, holding an upright sitting child, all over the statue are partly faded dots in different colours. The male sculpture with a wears an amulet around his neck and holds a dagger in his right hand. On the top of the head sits a plaque attachment carved out in the middle. This plaque attachment means that the object plays a double role: First it is used in a ceremonial way and second it is a field guard, remains of painting; on the dagger are splinters, the plaque has two old repairs with metal clamps, the bases have rips and on the statues are several age cracks, both show remains of painting and have clear signs of high age and many traces of cultic use. The definition of the role of each carried object depends on the region the statue in question comes from. Our statues have the primary role of ceremony and rite. Both statues are from the inheritance of Mr. Kaba Cabinet, one of the leading collectors and dealers of the Bouaké region, who passed away about ten years ago.

M. Kaba Cabinet in his office in Bouaké, proud having a "téléphone fixe" to communicate with his clients in Europe, well before the portable telephone came to Africa. This photo also shows the prosperity of the well-known antique dealer. Few people in Bouake had such a phone at that time, and the mirror in the photo multiplies this status symbol.

Lit.: Tribal Art Traffic, a Chronicle of Taste, Trade and Desire in Colonial and Post-Colonial Times, by Raymond Corbey, 2000. Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, Senufo. Dynamics of Art and Identity in West Africa, 2015.

sold

Height: 133 cm / 137 cm
Weight: 8,2 kg / 7,9 kg