Maternité · Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3034597
Sotheby’s London, 3 July 1961, lot 128
Gunther Bloch, London, Great Britain
Description
wood, slightly shiny dark brown patina, two strings of glass beads, the rich decor with scarification marks implies that surely a woman of high social rank is depicted, a further hint is the fact that her feet do not rest on the ground, but on a separate pedestal, her forehead shows beautiful decor with brass inlay, the stool rather elaborate carved and whitened with kaolin, the act of nursing is especially emphasized, slightly dam., cracks, small missing parts (right ear, pedestal), socle;
for another object from the same workshop see Yale Archive No 0105336.
Figures like the present should encourage fertility and successful births. Baule classification for sculptures such as this is “waka sran”, literally “person of wood”.This sculpture would be appreciated for its aesthetic qualities, with phrases such as “o e fe” (“it is pleasing”).
Comparing literature
Vogel, Susan Mullin, Baule - African Art - Western Eyes, New York 1997, p. 96 f.