Tribal Art

Sometimes called a "settler", this African statuette forms the incarnation of a spiritual husband, sculpted according to the indications of the diviner. In "African art, Western eyes" Susan Vogel reports that a figure of this type (p.255), idealized spouse, is represented dressed in a city outfit because the spouse is supposed to have a job in city. The earthly spouse, through the cult rendered to this spiritual double, expects to have his resources, his favors and his protection unfailingly. About sixty ethnic groups populate Côte d'Ivoire, including the Baoulé, in the center, Akans from Ghana, people of the savannah, practicing hunting and agriculture just like the Gouro from whom they borrowed the cults and masks.
Irregular polychrome patina, abrasions. Desication cracks (ear).