These figures, made of wood and dyed black, represent helpful bush spirits called 'Tugubele'. They belong to the local ritual experts of the Senufo people, ‘assisting’ them with their oracles and predictions. The present, standing male Tugubele figure’ is very finely executed. In perfect Senufo style, with a typical hair style, facial scarification marks and ornaments, small breasts. With visibly old 'used' patina.
Some of the most beloved artistic creations of sub-Saharan Africa, masks, figures, and decorative art labeled as Senufo have been the subject of numerous studies by African, American, and European scholars since the 1930s. The interest in sculpture identified as Senufo was largely stimulated by its discovery by the artistic avant-garde in the early twentieth century. Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger were among those to find inspiration in the oeuvre of their West African counterparts.
Goldwater described "the Senufo people" as agriculturalists whose history of migration brought them into the region around the borders of the countries then known as Ivory Coast, Mali, and Upper Volta. He identified the Baule, Guro, Dan, N'gere, Bobo, and Bambara (or Bamana) as influential neighbors of the Senufo who in various ways contributed to stylistic differences in Senufo art. However, today categories such as "Senufo" and "Bamana" seem less distinct than they did in the mid-twentieth century.
The term Senufo commonly refers to a linguistic group comprised of about thirty related dialects within the larger Gur language family. Many Senufo speakers live, work, and interact with people who use many other languages in the towns and cities in a region located between the northern reaches of West Africa's coastal forests and the southern reach of the Sahara desert. Many people in rural West African Senufo-speaking communities continue to pursue agricultural work. They cultivate a wide variety of crops, including cotton and cash crops for the international market. They also actively support the arts, including a wealth of masquerade art and figurative sculpture. Other Senufo speakers serve as active promoters of Senufo arts and culture in conjunction with their careers as politicians, civil servants, religious clergy, and academics in their home countries and abroad.
Provenance:
- Keith Banks, London, UK, then inherited by his family
- Private Collection, London, UK
- Christie's, London, UK
Literature:
- Förster, T., 1988, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen
- Gagliardi, S. E., 2015, Senufo Unbound
- Glaze, A. J., 1981, Art and Death in a Senufo Village
- Fischer, E., and Homberger, L., 2015, African Masters: Art from Ivory Coast
David Malík PhD
Founder/Director
