A beautiful statue of a horseman (senanbele or tuguble) incarnating a ndebele bush genie, here on his mount like an emissary. These sculptures are linked to divinatory rites. Their carving was ordered by the diviner, and they were intended for personal altars, but in this case, for the rarer wooden equestrian sculptures, for the diviner's altar. The horse is associated with speed, dignity and prestige, but also with violence and disorder, "having been used in pre-colonial times by warriors and slave thieves of whom the Senoufos were victims". The sculptor has paid particular attention to the details of the rider, his stature, the harness, the particularly wide and elegant saddle, and the animal's tail, halfway between stylization of form and expressive power, making this sculpture a fine example of classic Senoufo art. Senoufo, Ivory Coast Wood, sacrificial materials, wear and very fine old sacrificial patina. Height: 31cm Provenance: Alice and Henri Dupont Collection, Lille, acquired c. 1950 Passed on by descent