Sitting male figure
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 122
93rd Tribal Art AuctionSitting male figure
Côte d'Ivoire, Baule
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany Lucien van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2000) Victor van Craen, Brussels, Belgium Artcurial, Paris, 22 June 2015, Lot 19 Private Belgian Collection |
H: 19.3 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, rich slightly sticky patina, plant fibre, base
Particularly beautiful figure with balanced harmonious body shapes and eye-catching asymmetrical hairstyle. The face bears scarification marks on cheeks and forehead and a beard made of plant fibre. A hole cut between the figure and the seat permits a real loincloth to be put on it.
The sculpture is described as "asye usu's stool", because the spirit uses it as a resting point. Such works represent idealized male or female figures in their prime, which the "asye usu" consider desirable forms to inhabit."
Artists commissioned with the creation of sculptures used in divination had to follow closely the instructions of the diviners "komien" who might have been told certain details about the figure's required physical appearance, posture, scarification marks, jewelry and hairstyle by the "asye usu" bush spirit itself, often during a dream.
The "level of artistry" directly affected their owner's ability to prophesize by seducing nature spirits and inducing them to divulge insights into the human condition."
S. Vogel noted: "The largest, oldest and most elaborate Baule figure sculptures are made as the loci for gods and spirits that possess their human partners and send messages through them in trance state."
Vienna, Austria: "Götter - Geister - Ahnen", Neue Hofburg, 23 March - 24 July 1994; Paris, France: Parcours des Mondes, 7-11 September 2011
YALE: 0057577