Mid 20th Century circa.
Former Massimo Bargna Collection
Description:
The choral representation of this motherhood is notable for its high aesthetic value and fine patina. It is hierarchically ordered with at its centre the figure of the mother goddess breastfeeding her child, a manifest sign of her ability to procreate and ensure the community’s prosperity and the continuation of life. The face expresses the beauty and harmony befitting a female divinity, an elaborate and elegant hairstyle and the ethnic scars on her cheeks. The deified ancestress is seated on a seat, a posture denoting authority and prestige.
She is surrounded by three figures whose reduced size manifests their hierarchically inferior role. The female figure on the right holds in her hands the kola nuts that the priestesses offer to the deity during propitiatory rites. On the right is a chief figure holding a flyswatter, an emblem of power. On the back, another child wrapped in a skirt to reiterate the fertility theme.
CODE: OGANOG0257467
Dimensions: 54 x 42 x 32 cm
Historical Stylistic Analysis:
This rare figure probably represents Oshun, one of the female deities, called orisha, who are part of the pantheon of the Yoruba, an ethnic group from south-western Nigeria. Oshun is the goddess of fertility, health and rivers, whose cult is closely related to that of the earth goddess Odudua. This figure was placed on the priest’s altar and honoured with offerings that served to benefit the community. The cult of Oshun transferred during the slave trade into Cuban santeria and Brazilian candomblĂ©, retaining its symbolic meaning, albeit with some minor variations.
Published on:
“African arts”, UCLA magazine, Los Angeles, luglio 1993, volume XXVI, numero 3, pagina 74.
“Yoruba”, Massimo Bargna, Ed. La Grafica, Cantù, 1992, in copertina e a pagina 32.
Bibliography:
“Yoruba. Art and aesthetics”, Rowland Abiodun, Henry John Drewal and John Pemberton III, Ed. The center for African art and the Rietberg Museum, Zurich.
“Yoruba. Nine centuries of African art and thought”, Henry John Drewal, John Pemberton III and Rowland Abiodun, Ed. The Center for African Art con Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York, 1989.
“Yoruba”. Sculpture of West Africa”, William Fagg, John Pemberton III, Ed. Alfred A.
- Wooden Motherhood, Yoruba art (Nigeria)
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