The present wooden sculpture belongs to the cultural and religious context of southeastern Togo and stylistically falls within the tradition of the so-called Bocio (also Bochio or Bocio fetishes) of the Fon people. This type of object forms a central component of Vodun religious practice and functions as a material vehicle for spiritual efficacy within ritual acts. Formally, the sculpture presents itself as a vertically oriented assemblage: Several small, not clearly individualized figures are bound by cords to a central, pole-like support. This additive structure points to a key principle of Fon art, in which the power of an object derives less from mimetic representation than from the intentional combination of heterogeneous elements. The binding of the figures to the pole can be interpreted as a visualization of control, bundling, or fixing of forces - a motif frequently associated with the regulation of social or spiritual energies in the context of Bocio. The sculpture's crowning feature of three inverted anchor-like forms is particularly significant. While a definitive iconographic interpretation remains difficult without context, these elements can be understood more broadly as signs of binding, anchoring, or reversal. In Vodun contexts, such metallic or formal additions often symbolize the deliberate "fixation" of invisible forces or the control over transitions between the visible and invisible worlds. The coating of white pigment - presumably kaolin - refers to purity, transcendence, and the ancestral realm. In Vodun, white is considered the color of spiritual presence and connection to the afterlife. The blue and red dots applied over this create a visual rhythm on the surface, possibly indicating ritual markings or energetic charges. Such pigmentation is not decorative in the Western sense, but rather part of a performative process in which the object is activated through repeated actions. The sculpture's condition - with cracks, missing pieces in the lower section, and a flattened back - indicates prolonged use within a stationary context, such as a shrine. The flattened back suggests that the object was leaning against a wall or integrated into an architectural structure, while the visible signs of aging can be interpreted as indicators of ritual practice, not mere damage. Traces of use, patina, and material losses are integral to the "biography" of such objects and testify to their efficacy in cultic rituals. Within the religious system of Vodun, such sculptures function as intermediaries between humans and a multitude of spirit beings (vodun) that influence fate, health, and social order. Bocio objects are not representations of deities, but rather operative tools: they "embody" forces, focus them, or direct them toward specific goals. Their seemingly fragmentary and non-naturalistic design reflects an intentional aesthetic that prioritizes efficacy over representation. Overall, sculpture can be understood as a complex, process-oriented artifact whose meaning only unfolds through the interplay of materiality, form, ritual practice, and social context. It exemplifies an art form in which object and action are inextricably linked and in which the visible always points to an invisible network of effects. Literature (selection) Suzanne Preston Blier: African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power (Chicago 1995). Marc Augé: Le dieu objet (Paris 1988). Pierre Verger: Dieux d’Afrique (Paris 1954). Fritz Kramer: Der rote Fes. Über Besessenheit und Kunst in Afrika (Frankfurt a.M. 1987). Kris L. Hardin: The Aesthetics of Action: Continuity and Change in a West African Town (Washington 1993). CAB 43283