GJPaw Auctions is pleased to offer a stunning carved and painted wood Blolo or Spirit Spouse (or perhaps "Colon") figure, from the Baule people, Ivory Coast, West Africa. The Baule (pronounced bow-lay) people believe there is an alternate world running parallel to the world of the living. They believe each person has a mate in the spirit world - a place where all spirits originate and return. The existence of the "mate" is typically encountered by young adults who face a specific problem such as infertility or the failure to find a partner.  Once a person is "diagnosed" by a diviner (called a wunnzueyifue and an important member of Baule society), may determine that the problem can be solved by marriage to a spirit spouse - in which case a representation of the spouse is carved. Each sculpted spirit spouse has a distinctive personality and exerts a powerful influence on the daily life of its physical mate. A man will own his spouse, the blolo bian, and a woman her spouse, the blolo bla.  Once the marriage between the physical mate and the spirit spouse takes place it becomes the physical mate’s obligation to give offerings to the spirit spouse. In turn, it becomes the obligation of the spirit spouse to cure whatever problem caused the creation of the marriage in the first place. The relationship between the physical mate and their spirit spouse can be described as active rather than passive. In fact, physical mates were often compelled by the wunnzueyifue to devote at least one night per week to their spirit spouse instead of their real life mate. The resulting communion was meant to take place in the dream state. "Colon" figures are a genre of wooden figurative sculpture within African art. The statues usually depict European colonial officials such as civil servants or other professionals along similar lines as Spirit Spouses. However, there is considerable crossover between the genres. This highly distinctive soccer player figure measures 5 inches in width by 3.5 inches in depth by 21 inches in height (12.7 cm by 8.89 cm by 53.3 cm). It is in very good condition, showing wear commensurate with use, including a little cracking paint and wood decay. It dates to the mid-20th century. A fabulous collector’s item, coming from an important Midwest collection of African art, it is guaranteed authentic and would make a fine addition to any collection of African sculpture or African art in general.

GJPaw Auctions has been in the Art business for over 35 years and is now expanding its operation to eBay. Our goal is to bring the same experience and excitement of collecting that we have been delivering in-person to collectors across the globe at Primitive in Chicago.  Every object we sell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attention to detail, quality, and significance. We ship worldwide. Add GJPaw to Sellers you Follow and please take a moment to look at our other auction items.

A1600-131