Standing female figure · Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3033889
Description
wood, rich dark brown patina, remains of black paint, cord with brass pendant, string with miniature glass beads, a narrow face with stylized facial features and a high rising forehead, adorned with raised tattoos and semicircular scarification marks, the slender body closely framed by rudimentary arms, rising from strong legs and big feet in flat relief, slightly dam., minor missing parts (nose, mouth), a crack diagonal across the right face half spread with mass, further crack (right bladebone), rep. (base), on wooden pedestal;
figures of the Guro are not meant as portraits, neither do they depict an individual, nor a deceased or an invisible partner from the other world, as is the case with Baule “blolo” figures. They have really nothing to do with the veneration of ancestors. In fact they were acquired from single persons at the recommendation of a sooth-sayer. They were called “mi iri nä” - “small wooden person”. As ritual objects they are displayed on special shrines, called “zuzu”. “Zuzu” is also the name of invisible spiritual beings, who are thought to be able to defend the crops and the house from evil spirits. The small wooden figures are mediators between the “zuzu” and the humans. Regularly they receive small pots with fresh cooked food in order to keep the spirits well-disposed.
L’objet Standing female figure avec l’ID d’objet 3033889 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 71st tribal art auction dans 24 novembre 2012 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 181 a atteint un prix de vente de 45 000 €.
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Littérature comparée
E. Fischer & L. Homberger, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1985, p.227 f.
Publications
Bastin, Marie-Louise, Introduction aux arts d' Afrique noire, Arnouville 1984, p. 177, ill. 157