Yoruba Kneeing Figure

This figure comes from the Yoruba tradition of maternity carvings, in which a kneeling mother nursing her child draws together two strands of meaning that run deep in shrine work. The kneeling posture signals devotion, supplication, and the offering of respect to a deity or ancestor, while the act of breastfeeding carries its own weight as an image of nourishment, lineage, and the continuity of life. Motherhood holds a central place in Yoruba religious thought, and figures of this kind often appeared on shrines devoted to fertility, safe childbirth, and the wellbeing of children. A worshipper might commission such a piece to ask for children of her own or to give thanks for those already in the household, which is part of why maternity figures carry a particular closeness to the families who kept them. This piece comes from a private New York collection.