Top of a staff "sejen" · Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3035049
Description
light brown wood, dark brown patina, in form of a big flying bird, carrying two smaller ones on its back, min. dam., fine cracks, traces of abrasion;
such sculptures were fixed on top of long staffs and were displayed during the working competitions on the yams fields. “Sejen” means “the one who follows”. He was meant to watch over the young people while they were working.
The object Top of a staff “sejen” with the object ID 3035049 was last part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction at May 25, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 57 achieved a sales price of EUR 250.
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Comparing literature
Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 28