Description

This drum representing a woman of rank balancing a load on her head celebrates women’s prominence in Senufo society, where they act as family founders and spiritual mediators and guardians. It is embellished with designs that allude to the knowledge and power of diviners. This particular drum may have been played by a woman during commemorative funerals for members of the influential all-female associations known as Sandogo and Tyekpa.

Provenance

Charles Ratton (died 1986), Paris, by 1957 [see Cannes, Arts D’Afrique et D’Oceanie, 1957; Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, 1963; Goldwater, 1964, no. 165]; sold to Harry A. Franklin (died 1983), Harry A. Franklin Family Collection, Beverly Hills, Calif., early 1960s [personal communication from Valerie Franklin 2/26/2014]; by descent to Valerie Franklin, to 1990 [see Marie-Therese Brincard, 1990, p. 103]; sold, Sotheby’s, New York, Apr. 21, 1990, The Harry A. Franklin Family Collection of African Art, lot 47, as A Senufo Memorial Drum, to the Art Institute, 1990.

Female Caryatid Drum (Pinge)

Senufo

c. 1930-c. 1950

Accession Number

111401

Medium

Wood, hide, and pigment

Dimensions

125.8 × 50.8 × 50.8 cm (49 1/2 × 20 × 20 in.)

Classification

musical instrument

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Robert J. Hall, Herbert R. Molner Discretionary, Curator's Discretionary, and African and Amerindian Art Purchase funds; Arnold Crane, Mrs. Leonard Florsheim, O. Renard Goltra, Holly and David Ross, Departmental Acquisitions, Ada Turnbull Hertle, and Marian and Samuel Klasstorner endowments; through prior gifts of various donors

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