Statue Blolo Bla, Baoulé People, Ivory Coast 02

Monoxyl statue showing a female character standing on a circular pedestal. The arms are along the body and the hands are placed around the navel. The legs are slightly bent, the torso and the neck are long. The slightly tilted head, sports a mouth in the shape of a lying "8" and is topped with a very beautiful headdress in an arc of a circle with a central lobe at the front and one at the back. The scarifications as well as the red color are symbols of beauty among the Baoulé. We find all the beauty codes of the Baoulé. The eyelids are slightly lowered as a sign of respect. This is a representation of Blolo Bla (wife of the afterlife). Its large size, as well as its adornments, can lead us to think that it was made for a man belonging to a high hierarchy. Wood, old black and shiny red-brown patina, crack, old black lacquer drips.
Height: 58 cm
Baoulé people, Ivory Coast
Around 1940 / 1950
Provenance: Galerie Noir d'Ivoire, Paris