NAGO/YOROUBA, Dahomey (Benin). Hardwood, natural pigments. Statue representing a pregnant woman standing on an almost circular base, her hands resting delicately on her belly. Her expressive face with realistic features is decorated with three painted cuts on the forehead and each cheek. First third of the 20th century. Height: 49.5 cm. Provenance: Collection of Madame S. F. By descent. Note: "This collection originally belonged to my grandparents and was passed down to me by my grandmother. It was acquired when I took over an artist's studio in Montmartre in the 1930s, my grandfather having also bought the furniture from the former tenant, the actor Robert le Vigan, who at the time had a certain reputation and frequented the Parisian artistic scene (friend of Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Marcel Aymé, Gen Paul, etc.).