Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

Glossy black, blue crest, red lips. Dressed for an evening engagement in the other world.

A Baule artist of Ivory Coast carved this blolo, a spirit spouse, in the 20th century. The Baule hold that a world of spirits runs parallel to our own, and that each person has a partner there who may need to be honored with a carved likeness. The body is lacquered deep and glossy black, set off by a crested blue coiffure with finely incised lines, vivid red eyes and lips, and a bright blue loincloth. Hands rest at the lower belly. The legs stand firm on a worn block base.

Seventeen inches. It takes a mantel in stride.