Top of a figural carved staff "tefalapica" or "tefalipitya" · Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3041744
Walter Schmidt, Würzburg/Innsbruck, Germany/Austria (1964)
Description
wood, partly oily dark brown patina, remains of pigments, in shape of a seated female figure, carrying a bulbous vessel on her head, adorned with cowrie snails attached to the back by cord, metal earrings, rep. (breakage right hand), left hand and right foot tip missing, slight traces of abrasion, base;
the sculpted figure always represents a “pitya” - a young unmarried woman at the peak of her physical beauty. “Te-fali-pitya” means “hoe-work-girl”.
From dawn to dusk throughout the cultivating season, teams of young men swing their iron hoes to the rhythms of drums and xylophones, as proud staff bearers follow behind the competing champions of each team.
The object Top of a figural carved staff “tefalapica” or “tefalipitya” with the object ID 3041744 was part of the auction 86th Tribal Art Auction on May 27, 2017. The object with the lot number 29 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500 with an asking price of EUR 2,500.
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Publications
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrikanische Kunst in Deutschen Privatsammlungen, München 1973, p. 78
AHDRC: 0071566