Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Neglect your spirit spouse, the Baule say, and trouble follows. Best to commission a likeness.

This standing man is a blolo bian, a spirit husband, carved in Ivory Coast in the 20th century. Eleven inches tall, he wears modern dress: a bright red shirt with a narrow belt, black trousers and a blue cap. His face is a broad red mask with white eyes under thick black brows, and his arms are held straight at his sides. Paint is worn at the hands and lower legs, and he stands on a round wooden base.

Attentive care is evidently called for.