This Museum Replica reproduces a 19th- or early 20th-century Senufo wooden sculpture from the Korhogo region, northern Côte d’Ivoire, now in the collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art. The original, measuring 63.6 cm (25 1/16 inches) in height, depicts a seated woman nursing an infant, embodying the Senufo concept of the Great Mother (Katyeleeo or Maleeo) who transmits the “milk of knowledge” to initiates. The composition reflects matrilineal inheritance, ancestral authority, and the process of becoming fully human through ritual and instruction. The woman’s face bears scarification marks denoting social maturity, while the child’s form is deliberately simplified to signify an uninitiated state. The surface patina of the original results from prolonged ritual application of oils and libations.
The replica is produced using high-resolution 3D scanning and printing or lost-wax casting processes to preserve the original’s proportions, frontal stability, and abstract stylistic features.
Available materials for the Nursing Woman With Child:
- White Nylon — Polished finish for a smooth tactile surface. This is the most cost-effective option.
- Black Nylon — Post-printing Color Touch treatment provides resistance to scratching, rubbing, and external conditions, with uniform and consistent coloration across production batches and high surface quality.
- Bronze — Produced via lost-wax casting from a 3D-printed wax master model. Liquid metal is injected into a plaster mold, yielding a solid, elegant metallic object.
- Gold Plated Brass — Brass base with applied gold plating.
- White Rhodium Plated Brass — Brass base with white rhodium plating.
More about the materials: https://www.sculpteo.com/en/materials/
Objects that exceed maximum production dimensions in the selected material are manufactured at a reduced scale relative to the original.
