A kaolin-coated sculpture of a bird. This rare and beautiful sculpture is most certainly a lumbr bird, a Lobi cult sculpture representing a turtle-dove, although Jean Roudillon in a few rare notes found in his archives concerning his collection attributed it rather to the Senufo. If it is a Senoufo sculpture, it is certainly not a representation of the mythical porpianong bird which, by self-fertilizing, gave birth to the Senoufo people, but rather that of a black guinea fowl associated with fertility. No matter, in reality, this sculpture is superb and incredibly modern, and if you look at it carefully, its kaolin coating, a sacrificial patina, bears witness, like the wood, to a magnificent age and an unmistakable traditional character. In Jean Roudillon's notes: "Africa, Ivory Coast, Senufo Mythical bird in wood covered with a light layer of white clay Height: 33.5 cm Lobi or Senufo, Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso Wood, sacrificial kaolin patina, wear, old oxidation and very fine old patina. H. 33.5 cm See: for a very fine example of a lumbr bird now in the collections of The Art Institute of Chicago from the former Thomas Wheelock collection (inv.2019.716) reproduced in the Sotheby's Paris sale catalog of June 15, 2011 lot 55. Provenance : Jean Roudillon Collection