Senufo female ancestor figure (Indianapolis Museum of Art)

Female ancestor figure

Year	1900-1940
Type	Wood carving
Dimensions	105.85 cm × 20 cm × 9.5 cm (41.675 in × 8 in × 3.75 in)
Location	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

This wooden female ancestor figure by an unknown Senufo artisan is part of the African collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Carved in the first half of the 20th century, it displays the artist's skill with form and respect for the powerful female half of the primordial couple.^[1]

Description

Romare Bearden once declared of this statue that "It’s the rhythms . . . that are so beautiful: the head and the two breasts, the length of the arms coming down to her waist." The figure is beautifully balanced and proportioned, with an arched back leading down from her delicate head to the weighty fists on her hips. This combination of strength and grace is fitting for the Mother Ancestor of the Senufo. She is heavily ornamented, with a helmetlike hairstyle, armlets, lip plug, and body markings across her torso, breasts, and temples. She has sharply conical breasts to signify her ideal womanhood and long arms to show that she is a caretaker.^[1]

Historical information

As half of the ancestral couple of the Senufo people, this statue would have been kept with her mate in a shrine. The pair would only be taken out for special occasions such as funeral processions, when the newly dead were initiated into the spirit world. During these processions, the statue would be alternately swung from side to side and struck against the ground to serve as percussion.^[2]

Acquisition

This work entered the IMA's collection in 1999 thanks to the Mr. and Mrs. Richard Crane Fund, the Anonymous Art Fund, the Mary V. Black Art Endowment Fund, the Lucille Stewart Endowed Art Fund, the Mrs. Pierre F. Goodrich Endowed Art Fund, and the General Endowed Art Fund. It now has the accession number 1999.31 and is on display in the Eiteljorg Suite of African and Oceanic Art.^[2] It was heralded as a highlight of the collection when the gallery first opened in 2000.^[3]

Condition

The figure's lower legs, feet, and a probable circular wooden base have eroded away due to a combination of water and insect damage, which also left the legs discolored. Its surface has been darkened by extensive handling and the tropical conditions of Ivory Coast.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Lee, Ellen Wardwell; Robinson, Anne (2005). Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0936260777.
^ ^a ^b ^c "female ancestor figure". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
^ "Eiteljorg Gallery of African Art Opens Tomorrow". Indepth Art News. 19 Aug 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2013.

External links

IMA page.

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields)

Significant
artworks at the
Indianapolis
Museum of Art

African art	Face mask Senufo female ancestor figure Magbo helmet mask for Oro society Palace plaque depicting warrior Guardian figure Healing of Abiku Children
American painting and sculpture to 1945	Afternoon Tea Cliff Rock - Appledore Dorothy Hotel Lobby Hurricane Jimson Weed Morning at Grand Manan Preparing for the Matinee Red Kimono on the Roof Reflections Sunlight The Boat Builders The Flight of Europa The Love Song The Rainbow Tidying Up U.S.A. Untitled (The Birth)
Asian art	Bowl with two violet spots Cong-shaped vase Covered jar with carp design Fine Wind, Clear Morning Ksitigarbha bodhisattva Ritual wine server Shigaraki ware storage jar Vase with carved peony scrolls Vase with nine peach design
Contemporary art	Acton Courre Merlan Egyptian Barnyard LOVE painting LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Landfield Untitled Judd Untitled Irwin
Decorative arts	Angel of the Resurrection Coffee service High chest of drawers Portland Vase Side chair
European painting and sculpture to 1945	Aristotle Battle Between Carnival and Lent Breton Women at a Wall Broek in Waterland Charing Cross Bridge Crucifix Crucifixion Enclosed Field with Peasant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Entry of Christ into Jerusalem House in Provence Landscape near Arles Ma Jolie Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene Man and Woman Peasant with a Wheelbarrow Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments Saint Luke Self-Portrait Rembrandt Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar Still Life with Profile of Laval The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise The Boy The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe The Country Dance The Crucifixion Cranach The Fifth Plague of Egypt The Flageolet Player on the Cliff The Flight into Egypt The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The House of the Deaf Woman and the Belfry at Eragny The Negress The Seamstress The Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome The Two Sisters The Valkhof at Nijmegen Triptych of the Annunciation Vorhor, the Green Wave
Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle
Oceanic art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)
Prints, drawings, and photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue
Textile and fashion arts	Moroccan wall hanging Chinese Souls #2 Eli Lilly Family Quilt Evening dress Woman's apron Sumbanese woman's ceremonial skirt

Outdoor
artworks
by location

Museum grounds	Above and Below Five Brushstrokes La Hermana del Hombre Bóveda Memories of Prague Mother and Child Numbers 1-0 Snowplow Stumbling Man Sutphin Fountain Two Figures Two Lines Oblique Down, Variation III
Oldfields	Copy of Diana of Versailles Diana with Dog Female and Male Herm Fountain Four Seasons Landon-Era Birdbath Mother and Child (Gordine) Nymph and Fawn Sundial, Boy With Spider The Three Graces Pair of Urns
100 Acres	Bench Around the Lake Eden II Free Basket Funky Bones Indianapolis Island Park of the Laments Stratum Pier Team Building (Align)
Artworks on loan	East Gate/West Gate Mega-Gem Portrait of History Sewall Memorial Torches Spaces with Iron