Cote D’Ivoire
Senufo

Wood – carved from one-piece of wood
Mid 20th Century
Length: 15.5 inches
Idiophone – Struck Directly  – Bell, Wooden

The Senufo live in Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. This Senufo sculptured gong possibly comes from the greater Ivory Coast region. Its stylistic markings and shapes of a young woman reflect the skill and aesthetic sensibilities of the ‘kpembele,’ woodworkers who specialized in figurative carvings used mostly for ceremonial purposes. According to Christa Ellison of Ikenga, Inc., “This wine ladle may have been used for the Sinzanga ceremonies in the sacred grove of the Poro secret society. The seated figure is called ‘nong.’ The initiates perform blood-sacrifices for larger sculptures, in honor of Kaatyeleo, a supreme deity. Some interpret these figures as the image of Kaatyeleo, a hypotheses which runs against the notion that there are no material representations of supreme deities.”