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Nursing mother. Yoruba Motherhood Wood Sculpture Nigeria 1990-2000

Breastfeeding mother. Motherhood, Maternity Yoruba.

Dimensions: 650 x 230 x 200 mm, 3.393 g.

SectionSculptures
MaterialWood
ContinentAfrica
CountryNigeria
Year1990-2000

Los yoruba, al igual que otras etnias de África, representan con frecuencia la maternidad en el arte en forma de mujeres con grades pechos amamantando, sea en madera tallada, sea en bronce a la cera perdida, marfil, piedra o terracota.
Los yoruba son una etnia que vive en Nigeria (24 millones y medio, 20% de la población) y Benin (medio millón, 9% de la población). Se dedican a la agricultura y son de religíon tradicinal o cristiana.

The theme of motherhood is universal and recurrent in art throughout black Africa. African maternity statues do not usually express the emotional bonds between mother and child, as they symbolise the fertility of women and the earth, belong to the domain of the sacred and are often displayed on an altar. The mothers are in a hieratic position, very well sculpted, while the child, often a small adult, is barely sketched, especially the body, and there are almost never any glances between mother and child.

In many African ethnicities, the left side of the body is associated with the sacred: in most black African maternity wards, the child is positioned to the left of the mother or suckling from the left breast.

In many African societies, the birth of twins is the ultimate symbol of fertility, and is the object of worship and great veneration. Among the Yoruba, who have one of the highest rates of twins in the world (45/1000 compared to 11/1000 in Europe), they are considered a sign of wealth and prosperity, and if a twin dies, it is given a statue, Ibedji, which is cared for, as if alive, by the mother for the rest of her life.

Actualizado el: 12/05/2024

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Los yoruba, al igual que otras etnias de África, representan con frecuencia la maternidad en el arte en forma de mujeres con grades pechos amamantando, sea en madera tallada, sea en bronce a la cera perdida, marfil, piedra o terracota.
Los yoruba son una etnia que vive en Nigeria (24 millones y medio, 20% de la población) y Benin (medio millón, 9% de la población). Se dedican a la agricultura y son de religíon tradicinal o cristiana.

The theme of motherhood is universal and recurrent in art throughout black Africa. African maternity statues do not usually express the emotional bonds between mother and child, as they symbolise the fertility of women and the earth, belong to the domain of the sacred and are often displayed on an altar. The mothers are in a hieratic position, very well sculpted, while the child, often a small adult, is barely sketched, especially the body, and there are almost never any glances between mother and child.

In many African ethnicities, the left side of the body is associated with the sacred: in most black African maternity wards, the child is positioned to the left of the mother or suckling from the left breast.

In many African societies, the birth of twins is the ultimate symbol of fertility, and is the object of worship and great veneration. Among the Yoruba, who have one of the highest rates of twins in the world (45/1000 compared to 11/1000 in Europe), they are considered a sign of wealth and prosperity, and if a twin dies, it is given a statue, Ibedji, which is cared for, as if alive, by the mother for the rest of her life.