Tyekpa Maternity Figure

Tyekpa Maternity Figure – This impressive representation depicts a mother nursing an infant with a slightly older child strapped to her back.  The delicate infant strains at his mother’s breast intently focused on its vital nourishment, while his mother remains stoic.  The mothers face is adorned with fine linear incising on the temples and cheeks, markings that are analogous to those made on Senufo women after having reached puberty.  The sculpture is used to honour women and their maternal role in ceremonies and festivals of the Tyekpa society, a social association among the Senufo peoples of the Ivory Coast.  During ceremonies, Tyekpa members dance with various figurative sculptures, including ones like this mother-child pairing, raised high above their head.

Origin – Ivory Coast, West Africa