Estimate
€ 2.000 - 2.500
Sold
€ 1.905
The price includes buyer's premium
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Information
50.5 × 34 × 35 cm
Composed of a female figure on horseback with symbols of indigenous iconography surrounded by her children in an unusual composition created by a master of Yoruba art.
Composed of a female figure on horseback with symbols of indigenous iconography surrounded by her children in an unusual composition created by a master of Yoruba art.
Dark patina on the wood with pigments, signs of wear
The lot is sold together with a certificate of expertise from Totem Gallery, Venice, Italy
Provenance
Totem Gallery, Venice, Italy
Exhibition
Arte Africana. "Fertilità e Maternità", 9 July – 3 October 2007 Totem Gallery, Venice, Italy
Specialist Notes
Among the large Yoruba population (Nigeria and Benin), elaborately carved statues decorated court palaces and temples for the worship of deities. Women, represented at the height of their beauty and abundance, were the most important symbol of fertility. The female figure on a horse is an example of high quality craftsmanship. The horse was always a symbol of great importance, so it is assumed that the group represents a queen who, surrounded by musicians and dignitaries, is on her way to a temple to bring the offering of the chicken she is holding in her left hand. In her right hand she holds a fan, another symbol of importance. The woman's hairstyle is very elaborate and dyed with indigo, which is also present on the chicken and on the hairstyles of the other characters, represented on a smaller scale to accentuate the importance of the woman. Reddish pigment and kaolin decorate other parts of the sculpture.
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