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Auction archive: Lot number 249

STATUE DEBLE SENOUFO

Auction 15.06.2002
15 Jun 2002
Estimate
€150,500 - €300,000
ca. US$143,793 - US$286,632
Price realised:
€424,750
ca. US$405,823
Auction archive: Lot number 249

STATUE DEBLE SENOUFO

Auction 15.06.2002
15 Jun 2002
Estimate
€150,500 - €300,000
ca. US$143,793 - US$286,632
Price realised:
€424,750
ca. US$405,823
Beschreibung:

STATUE DEBLE SENOUFO République de Côte d'Ivoire Statue Deble janus utilisée comme pilon de danse dans les rituels de la société initiatique du Poro. Cette sculpture est exceptionnelle tant par ses superbes qualités plastiques que par son historique que l'on peut retracer depuis son village d'origine SENUFO DEBLE (RHYTHM POUNDER), IVORY COAST The patina of this figure is remarkably beautiful, with the axe strokes having created a facetted, shining surface. There are areas of stamping, notably on the parts of the body which would have been stamped on the ground during various ceremonies. Apart from its extreme rarity, its construction, its monumental size and the deep sensuality which it expresses make this as a masterpiece of Senufo art. The Senufo, scattered over the north of Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and Mali, are a farming tribe. They developed over the centuries an artistic vocabulary linked to the earth and to fecundity. The world of the Senufo is ruled by the important secret society of the Poro, based on a caste system of age and initiation. The latter takes place in three stages, each of seven years. Linking rites of passage and esoteric learning, the Poro is at once an order and a authoritarian system, magical theatre and mysterious in its initiations. Their ceremonies take place in the sacred wood, a circular clearing in the forest where objects from the Cult are kept. The Debles were used as rhythm pounders during funeral ceremonial dancing. The pounding of the earth was thought to chase away evil spirits. Carved in pairs, they were essentially made for funerals commemorating former important members of the Poro sect, and were brought out at the ceremonies to introduce the deceased to Ancestoral spirits, when these spirits would also be conjured, as well as the primordial couple created by God. In 1946, a new cult arose in Mali: the Massa. This iconoclastic sect spread in four years throughout the Senufo's lands and entailed a wide-spread destruction of statues and figures. In 1950, Père Convers photograhed wooden figures in Lataha, the next town to Korhogo. The Deble figure in the Metropolitan belongs to this group, as does that in the Rietberg, and also the Barbier-Mueller Museum's. The latter's two winged antelopes, and indeed the janus Deble figure here from the Bochet Collection also belong to this group. The piece was offered to Monsieur Bochet by the Village Chief of Lataha, Lessesié Coulibali, as thanks for a service rendered. In order to continue the Poro cult, the desecrated figures had to be replaced. Because Coulibali was unable to finance the production of these figures, he turned to Monsieur Bochet for help. Three months later, the Chief offered him this exceptional sculpture on condition that he attended his funeral rites with other aged initiates and that he keep the statue until that date. He kept his word and kept the statue to the present day. A study by Mr Gilbert Bochet of this piece will be transferred to the purchaser of this lot. Hauteur 101 cm (39¾ in.) Bois brun à patine brillante lustrée

Auction archive: Lot number 249
Auction:
Datum:
15 Jun 2002
Auction house:
Christie's
Paris
Beschreibung:

STATUE DEBLE SENOUFO République de Côte d'Ivoire Statue Deble janus utilisée comme pilon de danse dans les rituels de la société initiatique du Poro. Cette sculpture est exceptionnelle tant par ses superbes qualités plastiques que par son historique que l'on peut retracer depuis son village d'origine SENUFO DEBLE (RHYTHM POUNDER), IVORY COAST The patina of this figure is remarkably beautiful, with the axe strokes having created a facetted, shining surface. There are areas of stamping, notably on the parts of the body which would have been stamped on the ground during various ceremonies. Apart from its extreme rarity, its construction, its monumental size and the deep sensuality which it expresses make this as a masterpiece of Senufo art. The Senufo, scattered over the north of Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and Mali, are a farming tribe. They developed over the centuries an artistic vocabulary linked to the earth and to fecundity. The world of the Senufo is ruled by the important secret society of the Poro, based on a caste system of age and initiation. The latter takes place in three stages, each of seven years. Linking rites of passage and esoteric learning, the Poro is at once an order and a authoritarian system, magical theatre and mysterious in its initiations. Their ceremonies take place in the sacred wood, a circular clearing in the forest where objects from the Cult are kept. The Debles were used as rhythm pounders during funeral ceremonial dancing. The pounding of the earth was thought to chase away evil spirits. Carved in pairs, they were essentially made for funerals commemorating former important members of the Poro sect, and were brought out at the ceremonies to introduce the deceased to Ancestoral spirits, when these spirits would also be conjured, as well as the primordial couple created by God. In 1946, a new cult arose in Mali: the Massa. This iconoclastic sect spread in four years throughout the Senufo's lands and entailed a wide-spread destruction of statues and figures. In 1950, Père Convers photograhed wooden figures in Lataha, the next town to Korhogo. The Deble figure in the Metropolitan belongs to this group, as does that in the Rietberg, and also the Barbier-Mueller Museum's. The latter's two winged antelopes, and indeed the janus Deble figure here from the Bochet Collection also belong to this group. The piece was offered to Monsieur Bochet by the Village Chief of Lataha, Lessesié Coulibali, as thanks for a service rendered. In order to continue the Poro cult, the desecrated figures had to be replaced. Because Coulibali was unable to finance the production of these figures, he turned to Monsieur Bochet for help. Three months later, the Chief offered him this exceptional sculpture on condition that he attended his funeral rites with other aged initiates and that he keep the statue until that date. He kept his word and kept the statue to the present day. A study by Mr Gilbert Bochet of this piece will be transferred to the purchaser of this lot. Hauteur 101 cm (39¾ in.) Bois brun à patine brillante lustrée

Auction archive: Lot number 249
Auction:
Datum:
15 Jun 2002
Auction house:
Christie's
Paris
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