Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE

Senufo Wooden Fertility Sculpture, 20th Century CE

Wood
2.75 x 13.25
PF.5884
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3ESenufo%20Wooden%20Fertility%20Sculpture%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E20th%20Century%20CE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EWood%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E2.75%20x%2013.25%3C/div%3E

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) Thumbnail of additional image
This wooden sculpture might be the representation of the Senufo goddess Kalieleo. She is the female counterpart of Koulo Tiolo, the Creator who was thought to be asleep, and thus...
Read more
This wooden sculpture might be the representation of the Senufo goddess Kalieleo. She is the female counterpart of Koulo Tiolo, the Creator who was thought to be asleep, and thus was never depicted in sculptural form. However, the representations of Kalieleo are very widespread in the Senufo art. She was the guardian mother of the village, protector of the Poro, a secret society of males responsible with passing on the sacred knowledge of the physical and spiritual world. She can be represented alone or giving the breast to a child. In this sculpture, she holds a small infant in her lap who eagerly suckles at her long, exaggerated breasts. She wears various armbands and a necklace with a pendant decorated with a grid pattern perhaps representing beads. Her hair has been braided into an elaborate coiffure that has been elegantly carved and extends outward in two horn-like braids that fall from the sides of her head. The large pointed protrusion in the center of her forehead might be related to the beak of the hornbill, a mythological symbol of sexuality and intelligence. Clearly this statue represents a woman of importance and majesty, regardless if she is a goddess or not. She has elegant jewelry, scars which were considered marks of beauty, and most a child, all indications of her high rank and fecundity. Whether or not this woman is the goddess Kalieleo can be questioned; however, one cannot doubt the significance of this sculpture as a symbol of beauty and fertility.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
8 
of  44

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields