Senufo Standing Female Figure

Long legs, a tall crest, a ribbed cylinder underfoot. The Senufo like a figure that can see over a crowd.

Senufo smiths and casters made small figures for diviners and for personal shrines, where they were kept as aids in speaking with the spirit world. This one, Ivory Coast, 20th century, is seven inches tall. Her arms hang free of the body, bent slightly at the elbow, her breasts full and pendant. The face is long and narrow. The patina is dark brown, with a gentle luster on the high points.

She is happy in a small grouping. Happier, frankly, in the center of it.