Mother-and-child "bateba" · Burkina Faso, Lobi · ID: 3035801
Description
wood, stained blackish brown patina, slightly dam. (foot), cracks, sacrificial traces, base;
a work of the carver Lunkena Pale from Gaoua
the female carrying a child is used in magical practices to drive off an evil spirit that is dangerous for a pregnant woman. The fact of ritually “tying” the object to the woman makes a link between her pregnancy and the carved image of her future motherhood so that the evil spirit will enter the object instead of her womb.
The object Mother-and-child “bateba” with the object ID 3035801 was last part of the auction 75th tribal art auction at November 30, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 73 achieved a sales price of EUR 450.
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Comparing literature
Bognolo, Daniela, Lobi, Milan 2007, pl. 34