Couple of figures "asie usu" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3032382

Description

wood, shiny reddish and blackish brown patina, female/male, of mannered form, above all the male figure shows clear- defined forms: narrow round shoulders, a striking voluminous lower part of the body, delicate carved hands and feet with extremely long fingers/resp. toes, a large facial plane with clear cut facial features and elaborate coiffure, - the female figure in contrast shows up more crude forms (massive lower part of the body, hands), the feet neglected, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks, on block-like base;
when a pair of figures is carved together, they cannot possibly represent spirit-spouses (which are always single pieces). They are inevitably spirits of nature, called “asie usu”, which are secondary divinities whose favour is gained through statuettes. Pairs like this belong to the property of a fortune teller who has to handle them with care in order to get their support. Like single figures of this kind, they are displayed between the fortune teller and the client during a public performance. They act as intermediaries between man and bush spirits. They may intervene in a person’s life to cause madness or to confer clairvoyance.

Comparing literature

Boyer, Alain-Michel, Baule, Mailand 2008, p. 151 Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genf 1993, p. 129 Vogel, Susan Mullin, Baule - African Art - Western Eyes, New York 1997, p. 81