Online catalogue for the 65th tribal art auction

151 Female figure "blolo bla"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, shiny, brown patina, rising from a circular base, supporting a slender trunk, both hands resting aside the accentuated navel, oval face with tribe-typical facial features, min. dam., cracks, traces of abrasion

H: 32 cm
H: 12.6 inch

Price: 300 - 600 €

152 Standing female figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, partly shiny brown patina, remains of kaolin, elongated cylindrical trunk, arms and bladebones in flat relief, raised scarification marks on nape and back, symmetrical facial features, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of insect caused damage

H: 39 cm
H: 15.4 inch

Price: 1200 - 2500 €

153 Standing female figure "blolo bla"

add to watchlist

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, shiny brown patina, remains of black paint, the hands resting on the bulging abdomen, tribe-typical scarification marks, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base

H: 30 cm
H: 11.8 inch

Provenance
Alfons Bermel, Berlin, Germany
Wolfgang Nerlich, Munich, Germany

Price: 2000 - 4000 €

154 Standing female ancestor figure "blolo bla"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, blackish brown patina, well-balanced facial features with lowered lids, raised scarification marks, elaborate coiffure, slightly dam., cracks (upper part of the body, base), on pedestal; the Baule belief that every man has a partner in the hereafter. These partners are embodied by the wooden figures "blolo bian" or "blolo bla" (=female version). Thus being very private items they are kept in the sleeping room, hidden from the eyes of public. In order to keep them well disposed, they receive sacrifical offerings, they are feeded and caressed.

H: 34 cm
H: 13.4 inch

Provenance
Hans Himmelheber, Heidelberg, Germany
Julius Konietzko, Hamburg, Germany

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 84

Sold.

155 Standing female figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, black encrusted patina, both hands resting on the bulging abdomen of a pregnant woman, well-balanced forms, self-absorped expression on the face, fine burled coiffure with neck chignon, raised scarification marks, foot rings, slightly dam., cracks, paint rubbed off, on plate; embodyment of the ideal female in Baule culture; elaborate coiffure and scarifications are signs of her beauty; the extremely strong thighs should be a hint that she diligently tills her fields and that her house never lacks water and firewood. Representing a spirit wife "blolo bla" or a bush spirit "asie usu". The actual function cannot clearly be determined, when the figure once has left its place of origin.

H: 46 cm
H: 18.1 inch

Provenance
Private Collection, France

Sold.

156 Standing male ancestor figure "blolo bian"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, greyish brown patina, string of white miniature glass beads with brass ornament, fine grooved crested coiffure, raised scarification marks, the neck and the left arm carved with rings, dam., cracks (left side of head and body), on base

H: 32,5 cm
H: 12.8 inch

Provenance
Pierre Vérité, Paris, France (1970's)

Literature
Ravenhill, Philip L., The Self and the Other, Los Angeles 1994, p. 25 f.

Sold.

157 Standing male ancestor figure "blolo bian"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, middle brown patina, flat facial plane with chin beard, rich decor with burled scarification marks, radial tattoos in the corners of the mouth, slightly dam., cracks, traces of insect caused damage, missing part (base), on pedestal

H: 30,5 cm
H: 12 inch

Provenance
Pierre Vérité, Paris, France (1970)

Price: 3000 - 6000 €

158 Standing ancestor figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, brown patina, encrusted in some areas, accurate carved, elaborate coiffure: fine grooved with neck lobe, unusual skin scarification marks in horizontal rows on back and abdomen, slightly dam., minor missing parts (base), cracks, paint rubbed off, on base; in addition to the realms of the village (culture) and the bush (nature), the Baule also believe in a far-off place that they call "blolo". It is a place "which exists beyond sensory experience". The Other-World is thought of as an ideal world, a place of exaggerated perfection. The "blolo" is inhabited by human spirits; it is the place from which comes the spirit of a newborn and the place to which a person's spirit returns to death. It is also a place where each person has a partner of the opposite sex. A woman has an "Other-World man" - "blolo bian" - , a man has an "Other-World woman" - " blolo bla".

H: 43,5 cm
H: 17.1 inch

Provenance
Harrie Heinemans, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Sold.

159 Mask "kpan"

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, shiny dark brown patina, remains of kaolin, a board carved with an oval face showing elaborate facial features and coiffure, min. dam., traces of abrasion; "kpan" masks are part of the "goli" masquerade, a day-long performance that involves the entire village population and which displays four pairs of masks. This popular event only takes place during an important event such as the death of a notable or a major celebration. The "kpans" are the last to take part in the ballet, their appearance remaining exceptional; the ornamentation and colours are equally attributed to the two sexes, nothing making it possible to distinguish them clearly and their role remaining ambivalent.

H: 35 cm
H: 13.8 inch

Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 66

Price: 2300 - 4500 €

160 Zoomorphic figure

This object is not available any more.

Ivory Coast, Baule

wood, glossy patina, black paint, in form of an stylized elephant, crowned by a human head with a long neck, pupils with red seed inlay, min. dam., traces of insect caused damage, slight traces of abrasion

H: 22,5 cm, coll. in situ, 1963 -1973
H: 8.9 inch, coll. in situ, 1963 -1973

Price: 650 - 1200 €