Standing female figure ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro/Baule · ID: 3042668

Description

wood, greyish-black patina, proportionally big head with elongated face and coiffure in two lobes, thin body with strikingly strong calves, which unusually are carved with raised scarification marks, slightly dam. (nose tip, ends of lobes), missing parts (foot zone/base), abrasion of paint, base.
Most Guro figures belong to the group of cult objects known as “zu” or “zuzu”. These are tutelary deities, or spirits that protect individual human beings. “Zu” are send by “bale”, God, to accompany a person throughout his life and are responsible for all human talents and success. The wooden statues are sometimes placed in special “zuzu” shrines.

Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard & Lorenz Homberger, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1985, p. 226 ff.