Senufo
Female Ancestral Figure (Pòròpya)
Senufo, 1949-1958
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Senufo
Female Ancestral Figure (Pòròpya)
Senufo, 1949-1958
Physical Qualities
Wood, 50 1/2 x 11 x 9 5/8 in. (128.3 x 28 x 24.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Purchase with exchange funds from Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1960.58
The figure’s erect body, level gaze, and the echoing geometry of breasts and stomach create an icon of womanhood. This artwork represents marriage, ancestors, and community. Until the 1980s, sculptures like this one - which would have been paired with a similarly-sized male figure - were displayed at the funeral celebrations of respected elders for four to five days. Their presence visualized the continuity of community through the passing of generations.
Purchased from Henri Kamer, Paris
African Reinstallation, "The Artist," Apr 2015, Wurtzburger Galleries, Kathryn Gunsch.
'The Sun,' Baltimore, MD, July 30, 1961, Sec. A., p. 15, repro.
K.R. Greenfield, 'The Museum: Its First Half Century,' 'Annual I,' BMA 1966, repro. p. 89.
Frederick John Lamp, "See the Music Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art." New York: Prestel, 2003, p.31, ill.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
On View at the BMA
