This is the rating and price for FINE BAMANA FEMALE FIGURE, MALI

Description : FINE BAMANA FEMALE FIGURE, MALI jonyeleni height 18 1/2in (47cm) Provenance French Private Collection American Private Collection According to Salia Malé, 'Jonyeleni figurines [are] representations of woman in the time of the first origination of Jo (an extremely complex and sacred concept connected with various rituals of the Bamana culture). These statues are the materialization of the soul of the female entity at the origin of the initiation practices which organize the society and maintain social order. According to Kate Ezra, quoted by N. Meyere, they are 'exaggerated in their form [. . .] always shining with oil and composed of flat surfaces, cubes, cones and cylinders which join up sharp angles. They are sculpted with their clothing, pearls, metal jewels, and scarifications on the body. They refer to the young girl in her ideal state, at her highest degree of physical attraction.'' (Colleyn, Jean Paul, Ed., Bamana - The Art of Existence in Mali, Museum for African Art, New York, 2001, p. 154) Superbly carved, the present example displays the exaggerated features described by Ezra above, including the voluminous, rounded buttocks, protruding conical breasts, broad shoulders and large head crested medially with large rounded ears having multiple piercings for earrings similar to the two remaining with green glass beads on each side; the front and back of the elongated cubed torso decorated with incised geometric patterns; standing on a rounded base with diminutive legs, leaning slightly forward, gazing slightly upward and to the left; fine dark brown patina with wear to surface indicative of cultural use and age. For further information on this lot please visit the website
Price: 28 750.00 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 30000 USD-40000 USD It's free to register now to view!

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