Protective figure "bateba phuwe" · Burkina Faso, Lobi - Birifor · ID: 3046552

Name: Protective figure "bateba phuwe"
SKU: 3046552
Availability: Discontinued

not available anymore

Provenance

Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, 3 July 2007, Lot 134 (offered as male/female couple)
Christof Vonderau, Berlin, Germany
Rainer Berner, Berlin, Germany

Size

H: 63 cm

H: 24.8 inch

Description

wood, strongly encrusted patina/ sacrificial traces, base

The order to have a figure sculpted the people receive from the “thila”, invisible beings provided with supernatural powers and skills, who serve as mediatiors between god and the people.

The “bateba” become a living and active being in that moment, in that they are placed on a shrine and are subordinated to the authority of a “thil”. It then turns into mixed beings, that combine human appearance and superhuman qualities of the “thil”.

Such figures are kept in shrines as living personages that see, communicate and intervene in the life of Lobi villages in warding off disease or witchcraft.

The object Protective figure “bateba phuwe” with the object ID 3046552 was last part of the auction 94th Tribal Art Auction at March 7, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 222.

You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.