Baule Male Blolo Bian Spirit Spouse Custom Stand African Art

Description

Type of Object
Male figure
Country of Origin
Cote d'Ivoire
People
Baule
Materials
Wood, pigment, beads
Approximate Age
20th century
Height (in)
11.5
Width (in)
1
Depth (in)
1.5
Other Dimensions
12.5 inch height on stand
Overall Condition
Fair. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage/Repair
Damaged leg
Additional Information:
Baule people believe that people are born into the world already married. This spirit spouse has great influence, for good and evil, over life on earth. After earthly marriage, one night of the week is kept for sleeping with the spirit spouse, and earthly spouses may not sleep together. The carvings are kept very private, and are rarely seen. Baule figurative statuary is some of the best known and most collected. Finely carved male and female figures ranging is size from small to big are generally portrayed in a standing position of formal calmness with arms close to the body and hands resting on the abdomen. Attention is focused upon the head with emphasis given to detailed face and neck scarification and elaborate coiffures. Figures are often enhanced through the addition of gold leaf or by jewelry. Baule figure sculptures fall into two categories, the first represents spirits of the wild (asie usu) that live in the bush beyond village boundaries and the second are male and female figures that represent spirit world spouses for their owners. Other world spouses , are kept in personal shrines where offerings are made to them and where they are close by their real world spouse.
Recommended reading:
P. L. Ravenhill: Baule Statuary Art: Meaning and Modernization, Institute for the Study of Human Issues, Working Paper 5 (Philadelphia, 1980)
S. M. Vogel: Beauty in the Eyes of the Baule: Aesthetics and Cultural Values, Institute for the Study of Human Issues, Working Paper 6 (Philadelphia,1980)
S. M. Vogel, Baule, African Art, Western Eyes. 1997
**136930**
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