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HOME :
African & Tribal Art :
African Sculptures : Djimini Wooden Sculpture of a Woman
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Djimini Wooden Sculpture of a Woman - PF.6310
Origin: Ivory Coast
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
22" (55.9cm) high
x 5.5" (14.0cm) wide
Collection: African
Style: Djimini
Medium: Wood
Additional Information: Closet AF10.
$4,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Many African tribes preferred to think of the
spirits of their ancestors collectively rather than
in terms of separate individuals. This is the
result of the animism that underlies their
religious beliefs. Such religious beliefs have been
termed “animism” because they believed that a
spirit exists in every living thing. Spirits dwell in
the earth, in rivers and lakes, in the rain, in the
sun and moon; still others demand to be
appeased in order to promote fertility or cure
disease. Their dwelling places may be given the
shape of human figures, such as this glorious
fertility sculpture depicting a standing woman. In
this case, such spirits sometimes achieve enough
of a stable identity to be viewed as rudimentary
deities. Like many other neighboring tribes from
the Ivory Coast, the Djimini (also spelled
Dyimini) people believed that the spirits of the
deceased continued to play an active role in the
life of their descendants. By creating memorial
sculptures and presenting it with proper
sacrifices and libations, the relatives of the
deceased could influence the favor of the spirit.
Judging by the beauty and social position of this
woman, there is no doubt that she would have
continued to play a major role within society
even after her bodily departure. She holds both
her hands alongside her stomach, a convention
of Baule art. Her hair has been intricately woven
into a series of braided crests that accentuate
her beauty. Decorative scarification, considered
both beauty marks and signs of rank, cover much
of her face as well as the arches above her
breasts. The series of three scars that fan out
from the corner of her lips are uniquely Djimini.
This gorgeous sculpture is the idealized form of
feminine beauty that honors the ancestors of the
past so that they might beneficially influence the
future of the family and the tribe as a whole.
- (PF.6310)
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