Divination rider, Sandogo Society, Sénoufo, Ivory Coast - Lot 136

Lot n° 136
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Estimation :
600 - 800 EUR
Divination rider, Sandogo Society, Sénoufo, Ivory Coast - Lot 136
Divination rider, Sandogo Society, Sénoufo, Ivory Coast Wood H: 25 cm (with base: 28.5 cm) Provenance: French private collection Equestrian statuette featuring a rider on horseback, adorned with distinctive attributes such as a helmet and spear. The finely sculpted face features almond-shaped eyes with underlined eyelids, carefully designed ears and a slightly forward-projected mouth; scarification marks are visible at the temples and corners of the mouth. The left hand, now incomplete, was probably holding a weapon. The overall impression is one of harmony and controlled strength. Sandogo sorcerers use equestrian statuettes featuring a rider armed with a spear. Despite this warlike attribute, these works exude a soothing presence and embody a mediating spirit, a symbol of balance and protection. In the Senufo universe, equestrian figures are invested with a strong symbolic significance and help reinforce the effectiveness of divinatory practices. The horseman represents both material and moral power, as well as the power and authority associated with leadership. Small divination horsemen were much rarer than statuettes in the predominantly female Sandogo society, the horseman being a symbolic mark of political power associated with the tutelary forces of the genies. This is the style of the Koulebele woodcarving workshops in the western Sénoufo region of the Boundiali prefecture in Côte d'Ivoire, which once corresponded to the southern limit of the horse's habitat, sensitive to the tsetse fly and vector of trypanosomiasis. Owning and breeding a horse was therefore expensive, and reserved for the great political and warrior aristocracy. The conical straw jabila hat is also a symbol of the rider's notability. Here, the headgear is embellished with a rare faceted figuration, the artist's intention being to magnify the character. References for divination riders: - Senoefo, Afrika Museum Berg en Dal, 1980, rider with hat p. 11, no. 9 - Aus Afrika, Hamburgisches Museum, 1985, rider p. 64, no. 54, village of Nafoun (Boundiali region) References for divination statuettes: - Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire, Barbier Mueller, documents, Tome 2, n° 23 to n° 27 notices by Anita Glaze, n°23 statuette with hat, ex coll. Joseph Mueller before 1939.
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