Impressive "bochio kpodohonme" · Benin, Fon · ID: 3042794
Henricus Simonis, Düsseldorf, Germany
Description
wood, fabric, iron, black paint, kaolin, indigo blue pigment, the body wrapped with cloth and iron chains, which are abundantly hung with padlocks, head and upper part of the body encrusted with sacrificial matters in such a thick layer, that facial features and ritual appendages are not identifiable any more, iron snakes and pointed wooden sticks in the lower area, slightly dam., cracks (head and base), pedestal.
Metal objects are particularly “strong”. They invoke the Vodun “gu”, the god of iron and the violence of war. Padlocks enable you to “lock up” evil forces, or shut them up in an iron ring. A ring like this can also bring someone into a dead-end situation from which he cannot free himself.
The object Impressive “bochio kpodohonme” with the object ID 3042794 was last part of the auction 87th Tribal Art Auction at November 11, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 285 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
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Comparing literature
Weinhold, Ulrike & Irene Hübner, Geest en Kracht, Vodun uit West-Afrika, Berg en Dal 1996, ill. 68