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Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Female standing figure
Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Female standing figure

Date20th century
Label TextJealousy is resolved in Baule culture by the acquisition of a “person of wood” who enables the owner to communicate with troublesome spirits. This tall figure embodies the physical qualities prized by the Baule: impassive faces, long necks, contained postures, and precisely detailed scarification and hair styles. This figure was likely commissioned by a woman who was in distress, concerned about the disruptions caused by what is called a “spirit spouse”. All Baule adults have a mate of the opposite sex living in the otherworld who can be demanding and causing problems in a marriage, with children, or with finances. Wooden spirit spouses become companions that one spends at least one night a week with and cares for. The smooth glossy skin on this sculpture is a sign that this spouse has been fondly polished. Always standing with a strong vertical axis, the spirit spouse’s legs are flexed and full, in a manner admired by the Baule as the sign of a person in their prime.
Object number2012.29.3
ProvenanceMaurice Ratton Antiquarie, Paris, 1967; [Madame LeLoup gallery, New York City]; purchased from gallery by present owner, 1988
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Credit LineGift of Dr. Oliver E. and Pamela F. Cobb
DimensionsHeight: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
MediumWood, cloth
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2012.29.1
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2012.29.2
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2012.29.4.1
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2012.29.4.2
Female figure
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2005.146
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2015.19
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
20th century
Object number: 2012.29.20
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Cote d'Ivoire
early-mid 20th century
Object number: 2012.1.1
Standing female figure
Sierra Leone
20th century
Object number: 94.104
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Congolese
Object number: 68.136
Photo: Paul Macapia
Object number: 81.17.257