Senufo staff top figuring a hornbill, Senoufo,... Lot 29

Senufo staff top figuring a hornbill, Senoufo, Republic of Ivory Coast Wood with black patina H. 30 cm Senufo staff top figuring a hornbill, Ivory Coast H. 11 7/8 in This elegant staff top represents a classic and stylised hornbill with this long curved beak resting on a long cylindrical neck, symbolically "fertilizing" the round belly of the bird and the wings signified by a rectangular pattern. The dark brown patina is beautiful and deep, a sign of its long use in the cult of the poro which governs community life among the Senoufo and serves to initiate young people and accompany them in their adult life in this region of Tengréla near the border with Mali.