Art Africain, Art Premier - Janiform Lobi Statue

Burkina Faso, first half of the 20th century

Ancient private family collection (Aubenas, Ardèche). This sculpture was brought back from West Africa by an ancestor of the family, then kept by descent until today.

Ancient ritual sculpture from the Lobi ethnic group, originally from Burkina Faso, representing a janiform male figure belonging to the corpus of Bateba, protective sculptures occupying an essential place within family sanctuaries and domestic altars.

Cut from a single block of wood, this figure displays the emblematic characteristics of Lobi statuary: voluminous head, faces with features reduced to essentials, long cylindrical neck, schematized torso and deliberately accentuated anatomy. The stripped-down treatment of volumes, combined with a remarkable expressive power, gives the ensemble a particularly strong presence.

This work belongs to the type known as Ti Bala Dorka, janiform or two-headed figures considered exceptional entities in Lobi cosmology. Endowed with multiple eyes, they possess the symbolic ability to simultaneously watch different directions. This omnivigilance gives them a protective role against harmful influences, disease and acts of witchcraft.

The sculpture shows a beautiful dark brown to black-brown patina of use, resulting from long years of handling and exposure in a ritual context. The surfaces show harmonious wear of the reliefs, as well as a significant old shrinkage crack at the top of the head, characteristic of the wood's natural aging. The depth of the patina and the natural erosion of the volumes bear witness to its age and journey.

By the simplicity of its lines, the balance of its proportions and the strength of its presence, this figure perfectly illustrates the sober yet powerful aesthetic that characterizes traditional Lobi art. Through its formal simplicity and symbolic charge, it is a remarkable testimony to the spiritual traditions of West Africa.

Dimensions:

Height: 24.5 cm

Condition:

Uses of use, small accidents and significant old shrinkage crack at the top of the head. State of preservation consistent with the age, nature of the material and ritual use of the object.

Preservation