Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Every person has a spouse waiting in another world, say the Baule. Someone must take them in.

This blolo bla, or spirit wife, was carved in Ivory Coast in the 20th century. A figure like this gave the spirit partner a body to be honored and appeased, usually kept in a private corner of the owner’s home. Fourteen inches tall, she is coated in warm red pigment, her dark coiffure swept into two lobes above a serene, white-lidded face. Her hands rest beside a raised navel, and black rings circle the hips above a small textile cache-sexe. The feet sit on a dark, rounded base.

Serene is the operative word.