A tall standing drum, known as ‘Pliewo’, made of hard wood and stretched with leather on one side. In typical Senufo style: The round resonating chamber of the drum rests on the head of a woman sitting on a stool. The woman displays the typical tribal scarification marks of the Senufo people on the temples, on the corners of the mouth as well as on her breasts. The woman’s legs are also the anterior legs of the stool.
The round resonating chamber of the drum features an all-round decoration in relief: On the front, above the caryatid’s head, is a typical ‘Kpelie mask’ of the Senufo people (with horns) flanked by two birds. The reverse features a walking human figure, a snake and a tortoise. Carved from a single piece of wood. The drumhead is stretched on the upper rim by means of robust wooden plugs.
A beautiful, characteristic object of the Senufo people, in very good condition (only a mino, old loss to the right foot and a minor tear to the back of the stool), and with visibly old, partly shiny usage patina.
First half of the 20th century; H: 103 cm, DM: 23 cm (the drumhead in the upper section). (ME)

Provenance: Austrian Private Collection.

Lit.: ‘Sounding Forms. African Musical Instruments’ by Marie-Thérèse Brincard, fig. 26.