Through art we can become quiet observers of a
domestic scene, and there are few sights more
touching than a woman breast feeding her baby.
In
her gentle repose this dignified mother allows us
to
be part of an intimate moment in her life. She is
naked from the waist up, with a thick band
around
her stomach and bracelets on her upper arms. By
curving the biceps the sculptor has shown the
tightening of the bracelets, while continuing the
overall curvature of form, descending in a
beautiful
flowing motion around the hips and thighs. The
conical shape achieves its highest expression in
the
beautiful headdress. This lovely adornment
perfectly
mirrors her oval face, offering a marvelous sense
of
harmony and balance, continued in the enlarged
breast which the baby suckles.
The Senufo carvers, kulebele, created statues for
various cults linked with agricultural work, used in
festivities and fertility cults. Growth of the soil in
the
form of life sustaining food is linked with the seed
of man growing inside the woman, both are the
life
force blossoming for the general good of the
community. And both are of great importance
deserving the sculptor's consummate skills.
Often
ancestors are depicted as ideal models
expressing
admired values and virtues, such as motherhood.
This superb statue embodies the essence of
maternity- palpable and stirring, a woman
content
in the pride of motherhood which transports her
to
another level of deep inner peace, seen in the
blissful expression on her face.
- (PF.2848)
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