Lot 57
  • 57

Très belle statue féminine, Bamana, Mali

Estimate
50,000 - 80,000 EUR
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Description

  • Bamana
  • Très belle statue féminine
  • wood, beads and cord
  • haut. 47 cm
  • 15 1/2 in

Provenance

Ancienne collection Charles Ratton, Paris
Ancienne collection André Schoeller, Paris
Galerie Ratton-Hourdé, Paris (accompagnée d'un certificat), 1958

Condition

Very good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Cette statuette Jonyeleni, d'une remarquable liberté de stylisation, exprime dans la puissance de ses formes l'image idéale de la femme Bamana, "à son plus haut degré d'attraction physique".

Seins généreux fermement projetés en avant, fesses rebondies et hanches étroites : c'est à cette femme à la fois désirable et féconde, "que les initiés du Jo peuvent prétendre au terme de leur initiation" (Meyere, 1986 : 11-12). Cette beauté idéale est mise en valeur par les scarifications en chevrons très finement gravées sur l'abdomen et le visage - telles qu'elles ornaient autrefois le corps des adolescentes, tandis que les bracelets de perles de verre et la patine sombre, luisante, évoqueraient selon Kate Ezra (1986 : 17) le corps des jeunes filles Bamana se préparant pour les danses.

"Utilisées lors des initiations septennales et portées de village en village par les initiés, [les statues] participent de l'exhibition des valeurs du Jo » (Salia Malé, in Colleyn, 2002 : 154). La statue se doit donc d'être visuellement aussi plaisante que possible. Ici - avec une individualité et un talent remarquables -, le sculpteur a joué de l'asymétrie de la pose pour exalter en la contrariant la force de la construction géométrique. De même, l'abstraction du visage résumé à une arête aigue - projetant au premier plan les traits aux modelés esquissés - accentue paradoxalement l'intensité de l'expression.

cf. Colleyn (2002 : 155, cat 137) pour une statuette de style comparable provenant de la région de Koulikoro ; et Sweeney (1935 : n° 4) pour une autre de la collection André Level, exposée lors d'African Negro Art au MoMA, en 1935.

A very fine Bamana female figure, Mali

The powerful forms of this Jonyeleni figure, executed in a remarkably free style, expresses the ideal image of a Bamana woman 'at her very highest level of physical attraction'.

With its large breasts projecting forwards, rounded buttocks, and narrow hips, this fertile and desirable woman represents the ideal which 'Jo initiates could claim at the end of their initiation' (Meyere, 1986: 11–12). This idealised beauty is enhanced by the chevron scarification marks which are finely carved on the abdomen and the face (of a type which formerly decorated the bodies of teenagers), whilst Kate Ezra notes that the glass bead bracelets and the dark, glistening patina evoke the bodies of young Bamana women preparing themselves to dance.

'Used during imitation rites and carried from village to village by the initiates, [figures] were used to show the values of Jo' (Salia Malé in Colleyn, 2002: 154). The figure must therefore be as pleasant to look at as possible. Here the sculptor – with remarkable individuality and talent – plays upon the asymmetry of the pose and accentuates the power of the figure's geometrical construction. In the same way, the loosely outlined features of the abstract face project forwards, paradoxically accentuating the intensity of the facial expression.

cf. Colleyn (2002: 155, cat. 137) for a comparable figure from the Koulikoro area and Sweeney (1935: no. 4) for another from the collection of André Level, included in African Negro Art at the Museum of Modern Art in 1935.