Large power figure "bochio" · Benin, Fon · ID: 3040303
Description
wood, encrusted brown patina, sacrificial traces, arm- and legless torso, the neck wrapped with strings of plant fibre, metal padlocks and small package with animal bones attached, coiffure with remains of real hair, rodent skull, min. dam., cracks, traces of abrasion, small missing parts, base;
metal objects are particularly “strong”. They invoke the Vodun “gu”, the god of iron, technology and the violence of war. Padlocks enable to “lock up” evil forces, or shut them up in an iron ring.
The object Large power figure “bochio” with the object ID 3040303 was last part of the auction 82nd Tribal Art Auction at February 27, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 369 achieved a sales price of EUR 600.
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Comparing literature
Boudre, Daniel, Fetiches de l'ancienne Cote des Esclaves, Toulouse 2014, p. 147