A rare and beautiful statue of an embracing or confronting couple in the style defined as Classical II by Bernard de Grune. The two figures display all the characteristics of great Djenné art: scarification, ornamentation... See the collections of The University of Iowa Museum of Art (inv. X1986.451) for another embracing couple from the Philippe Guimiot Collection. Djenné civilization, Mali Dated 1300 - 1400 A.D. (ASA TL510112) Ochre and gray terra cotta, old traces of firing, clean breaks and joints (original pieces), old missing parts visible notably on the base, beautiful light engobe. H. 26 cm Provenance : - Kabiné Djanné, Abidjan, before 1968 - Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels - Marc Blanpain Collection, Brussels Publications and Exhibitions : - Schaedler, Earth and Ore. 2500 Years of African Art in Terra-cotta and Metal, 1997, p. 43, no. 47, Burgrieden-Rot, Museum Villa Rot, June - November 1998 - Leurquin, "La piste du serpent" in Tribal Arts, Spring 1999, p. 73, no. 18 - Grunne (de), Dreams of beauty. African Sculptures from the Blanpain Collection, 2005, no. 8, Luxembourg, Banque Générale du Luxembourg, October 25 - December 2, 2005 - Grunne (de), Djenné-Jeno. 1000 ans de sculpture en terre cuite au Mali / Djenné-Jeno. 1000 years of terracotta statuary in Mali, 2014, n° 215