A SUPERB SENUFO EQUESTRIAN FIGURE, syonfolo

Details
A SUPERB SENUFO EQUESTRIAN FIGURE, syonfolo

The horse with rectangular block-like legs, thick serrated tail, flat spade-like head with sharp pointed nose, and long pointed ears supporting a male rider with stylized bent legs, supple forward thrust torso with heavy sloping shoulders, well defined arms with double armlets, flat oval hands, the right holding a staff, short thick neck, the forward thrust head having an elongated mouth and nose with parallel striated scarifications on cheeks, coffee bean eyes wearing a disk shaped hat with cylindrical projection, thick even dark brown patina with encrustrations.
11¼in. (28.5cm.)
Provenance
Abraham Adler, New York

Lot Essay

According to Goldwater (1964, p. 99) such equestrian figures were used by the Senufo for divination purposes, and as do the small standing figures, they represent ancestors. The sculptural rhythms set up between horse and rider are especially well conceived here.