A small female Lobi sculpture

A small female Lobi sculpture, Burkina Faso, standing on her two chunky feet, hands close to her body, short neck, oval shaped head with a stern expression, chin close to the neck, pouted lips, flared nose large squinted eyes. thick encrusted patina, signs of use. Certificate of origin and provenance.

" The Lobi people live in a vast geographical area that stretches from Burkina Fasso, to the Ivory Coast and into Ghana. Villages are spread out over wide areas and are made up of several compounds."

" The Lobi community is not organized on the basis of kinship or political ties and lacks any kind of centralized political authority in the form of a chief king or council of village elders. Instead the members of the community are united by common adherence to the cult of a nature spirit called “thil” (pl thila) and the rules that determine correct social behavior in the community are the rules that the spirit dictates through the diviner (thildar). The thila are invisible spirits of nature with certain supernatural abilities and powers that they can use for malevolent or benevolent ends. Each village has a particular spirit (dithil) that is responsible for the entire village. Social behavior is regulated by these thila, whose will is passed to ordinary people by priests and diviners."

"Wooden or clay sculpture, called bateba, act as an intermediary between a particular thil and the Lobi community. Lobi bateba figures have a wide degree of style and are made for a wide range of purposes. In Lobi communities anyone can learn to carve, it is not limited to people with specialized training. Lobi bateba figures are believed to be able to act in behalf of their owner, they are considered a living being and have the ability to act out against forces that could harm it’s owner or bring good things to it’s owner depending on it’s intended purpose".

Reference: A History of Art in Africa, Lobi Art and Culture, The Lobi of Burkina Fasso, Lobi Skulpturen.

Height: 21 cm
Weight: 0,22 kg