African Art, Primitive Art - Ancient Female Statue Lobi

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 and then kept by descent until today.

Ancient female ritual sculpture from the Lobi ethnic group, carved from a single block of wood with a dark patina.

This figure is presented standing in a hieratic attitude, with her arms brought to her sides and her hands resting on her abdomen. The ovoid head, supported by a long cylindrical neck, is sculpted using a particularly pared-down formal vocabulary: narrow almond-shaped eyes, a powerful nose in relief and a geometric mouth reduced to a few incisions.

The conical breasts, elongated legs and deliberately synthetic treatment of volumes lend the whole a remarkable plastic strength. This economy of means, characteristic of many early Lobi productions, reflects a search for symbolic effectiveness rather than a concern for naturalism.

The sculptures known as "Bateba" occupied an essential place in the religious and domestic life of the Lobi populations. Considered intermediaries between the visible world and invisible forces, they were associated with the protection of individuals, families and living quarters.

The work has an old black-brown to black patina, the result of long use. It retains numerous traces of age, as well as a large shrinkage crack running through the back of the sculpture, a natural phenomenon linked to the aging of wood.

By the quality of its presence, the sobriety of its execution and the balance of its proportions, this statue is an interesting testimony to traditional Lobi sculpture of the first half of the 20th century.

Condition:

Wear, small accidents and large old shrinkage crack. Posterior presentation base.

Dimensions:

Height: 28 cm