Statue, Turka, Burkina Faso

Antoine Ferrari de la Salle, Abidjan
Collection Lucien Van de Velde et Joanna Teunen, Anvers, acquis ca. 1980
Collection privée, Belgique

Paris, Musée Dapper, Femmes dans les arts d'Afrique, 10 octobre - 12 juillet 2009

Bastin, Introduction aux Arts d'Afrique Noire, 1984, p. 96, n° 68-69
Kerchache, Paudrat, et Stéphan, L'Art Africain, 1988, p. 359, n° 359
Falgayrettes-Leveau, Femmes dans les arts d'Afrique, 2008, p. 13

Very good condition overall. As visible in the catalogue illustration there is some loss of material on the proper right side of the neck. Small marks, scratches and insects holes. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture.
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Joignant à la puissance de ses volumes le dynamisme de ses formes en plans inclinés, cette statue témoigne du génie créatif Turka. La silhouette, d’une saisissante ampleur, met en contraste les épaules épannelées avec le ventre stylisé, projeté dans le même mouvement que l’étroit visage aux traits resserrés. Figures d’autel à usage privé, ces statuettes que l’on gardait à l’abri des regards donnaient corps aux esprits de la brousse. La stylisation des formes proposée par l’artiste est par essence liée à la nature de ces esprits : « Ils sont abstraits, parce qu’ils ne sont pas humains mais esprits, et qu’ils varient en degrés d’abstraction ; l’artiste nous rappelle que [ces effigies] sont des portraits d’êtres éthérés, et non d’ancêtres ou d’autres créatures naturelles. » (Roy et Wheelock, Burkina Faso Land of the flying masks. The Thomas G.B. Wheelock collection, 2007, p. 74).

Par l’élaboration remarquable de sa sculpture, cette statue s’apparente à une autre, masculine, autrefois dans la collection de Thomas G.B. Wheelock (Sotheby’s, Paris, 15 juin 2011, n° 57) ; probablement de la même main.

 

Combining the forcefulness of its volumes with the dynamism of its pitched surfaces, this statue is a testament to the creative genius of the Turka. The silhouette, with its striking depth, contrasts the whittled shoulders with the stylized abdomen, projected in a similar motion to that of the narrow face with its condensed features.

As altar figures, made for private use, these statuettes that were kept out of sight gave an incarnation to the spirits of the bush. The formal stylization proposed by the artist is related in essence to the very nature of these spirits: "They are abstract, because they are not men but spirits, and they vary in degrees of abstraction; the artist reminds us that [these effigies] are portraits of ethereal beings, not ancestors or other natural creatures. " (Roy and Wheelock, Burkina Faso Land of the flying masks. The Thomas G.B. Wheelock collection, 2007, p. 74).

In the remarkable elaboration of its carving, this statue is similar to another one, a male figure, formerly in the collection of Thomas G.B. Wheelock (Sotheby's, Paris, June 15, 2011, No. 57); probably by the same hand.