Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Half red, half blue, partly white. Wood showing through where the paint has gone.

The Baule of the Ivory Coast hold that an alternate world lies alongside ours and that each person has a partner there. A carved figure may be made to honor that spirit spouse and give it a place in the home. This is a blolo bian, a spirit husband, made in the 20th century. Nine inches tall, he stands with arms close to the sides and knees slightly bent. His face is red, the eyes white-rimmed, the hair black, chest and arms deep blue, hips white, legs red again.

He wears his losses well.