Nursing Woman with Child
Beyond its specific depiction of a mother nursing her child, this sculpture symbolizes a larger concept of ancestral motherhood that is central to Senufo society, in which cultural inheritance is matrilineal. The darkened areas of wood come from oils applied to its surface as both libations and surface protectants. In some Senufo beliefs, one of the most important founding ancestors is the Great Mother or Ancient Woman (Katyeleeo or Maleeo). In groups that believe in the Great Mother, she suckles male initiates with the "milk of knowledge." Through this process, youths gain the information ...
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- Wood and organic material
- Dimensions
- overall: height 0.636 m
- Department
- African Art
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
8 tags
Subject Matter
-
Human Figure Both · 99%
The sculpture visibly depicts two human figures, identified by the title and catalog as a woman and child.
-
Family Both · 92%
The image presents an intimate adult-and-child grouping, and the catalog identifies the subject as a nursing woman with child.
Medium and Techniques
Geographic Regions
-
African Art Metadata · 99%
The museum classifies the work as African Art and identifies its reported origin as Côte d’Ivoire.
-
West African Art Metadata · 97%
The reported place of origin is West Africa, specifically Côte d’Ivoire in the Korhogo area.
Materials
-
Wood Both · 99%
The catalog specifies wood, and the image visibly shows a carved wooden surface with varied lighter and darkened areas.
Cultural and Religious Styles
-
Traditional African Art Metadata · 84%
The catalog describes the work as made by a Senufo-style carver and discusses it within Senufo cultural and ancestral beliefs.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Nursing Woman with Child. Cleveland Museum of Art.