Baule Blolo or Spirit Spouse Figure

The Baule hold that a parallel world sits alongside this one, and that each of us has a spouse there. If that spouse is unsettled, a figure may be commissioned to honor it.

This is a blolo, carved of wood in the 20th century in Ivory Coast. She stands fourteen inches tall, female, with a crested, darkened coiffure and lowered eyes. Fine scarification marks the temples and cheeks. Her hands rest at the abdomen. A coat of red pigment, worn through in places to darker wood, gives the surface a lively, textured glow.

Someone is always waiting on the other side. This one looks content with the arrangement.