Yoruba female votive statuette - Nigeria (Southwest)

Female Yoruba votive statuette - Nigeria (Southwest)
Female Yoruba statuette, probably votive, carved wood
Height : 25 cm - Width : 9 cm - Depth : 10 cm - Weight : 280 g
Probable dating : first half of the XXᵉ century
Cultural area : Southwestern Nigeria (Yoruba area)
Head and face

Oversized head, in line with the Yoruba canon (primacy of the head - ori)
Oval, well-balanced face
Wide-open, bulging eyes
Straight, long nose, structuring the face
Thin, closed mouth, restrained expression
Discreet, vertical facial scarring
Raised, well-sculpted ears

Headdress

Very elaborate, high, fan-shaped back headdress
Engraved chevron and fishbone motif
Symmetrical, highly mastered organization
Major stylistic element, typically Yoruba

The headdress is a marker of social status and identity.
Body

Cylindrical, open neck
Broad, sloping shoulders
Well-defined feminine chest (conical breasts)
Long arms, close to the body
Short, sturdy legs set on a circular base

Base

Thick, circular base
Engraved geometric decoration on periphery
Guaranteed stability for domestic or cultic ritual use

State of preservation

Structure: complete, very stable
Wood: dense, sound
Surface / patina :

Old dark-brown patina with warm nuances
Even wear on reliefs

Alterations :

Slight abrasions
Minor knocks without loss of material

Related elements :

Pearl bracelets on wrists (probably an early addition, consistent)

Restorations: none visible
General condition: good old condition, good legibility of details

Stylistically, this statuette is somewhere between a female votive figure and a domestic cult sculpture, without strictly belonging to the ibeji (twins) corpus, although certain codes are similar.
Probable ritual function
In the Yoruba world, this type of statuette may be linked to :

A domestic cult
A female devotional figure
An object of mediation with a divinity (orisha)
An ex-voto or commemorative sculpture

The kneeling posture refers to :

Prayer
offering
Respect for invisible forces

Museum comparisons

Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac
Kneeling female Yoruba sculptures, elaborate headdresses.
British Museum
Yoruba votive figures, emphasis on headdress and posture.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Yoruba corpus illustrating the centrality of ori.

Bibliographic sources

Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit, Vintage Books
Henry John Drewal & John Pemberton III, Yoruba Art and Aesthetics, Smithsonian Institution
Frank Willett, African Art, Thames & Hudson
Suzanne Preston Blier, African Vodun, University of Chicago Press

This Yoruba statuette is an accomplished, expressive and well-codified piece.

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