This Lobi headstake from the Ivory Coast, collected in the region of Doropo, borderdestrict Bukina Faso/Ivory Coast, is carved from Lenke wood, a remarkably dense and heavy material whose endurance mirrors the spiritual permanence attributed to the sculpture. Its massive, globular form emphasizes material presence over detailed naturalism, conveying both authority and metaphysical potency. Mounted on a blackened stand, the headstake occupies a liminal position between the tangible and the spiritual, signaling its function as more than a decorative object; incl. stand. Within Lobi cosmology, the head is the locus of personal and familial power. Headstakes serve as guardians and intermediaries, mediating between the living and the ancestors. Their placement—often atop posts or within domestic or ritual precincts—marks sacred space, providing protection, asserting authority, and stabilizing social and spiritual order. The minimalistic facial features concentrate attention on the essence of the spirit rather than on individualized representation, while the robust material ensures the sculpture’s capacity to endure offerings, libations, or the placement of charms over time. Through its form, material, and placement, this headstake exemplifies the integration of sculptural practice and ritual function in Lobi culture, functioning as a persistent conduit for ancestral presence and protective force. Daniela Bognolo’s monograph Lobi (Milan, 2007) is frequently cited in connection with Lobi head sculptures and other shrine figures and provides valuable photographic documentation of the forms and their ritual contexts. Piet Meyer’s research on Lobi statuary and altar objects discusses the broader categories of sculptural markers—including headstakes—erected in southern Burkina Faso and neighbouring regions such as the Poni and Gaoua districts. A German tribal art catalogue entry for a Lobi baathil headstake (Tribal Art Reference, Zemanek catalogue) describes the head on a stake as the dwelling place of a khele, a powerful force released in the course of violent or transformative events, and outlines its role in forming a “milkuur” shrine. In ethnographic and auction commentary on Lobi pole heads from Kampti and Poni villages, such heads are linked with household guardian altars and protective thresholds, serving as votive and protective markers mediating between domestic compounds and territorial spirits. For cultural background on the peoples who create and venerate these forms, general information on the Lobi as a group can be found in regional ethnographic accounts discussing Thil spirits and the cosmological system of protective figures and spirits. These references offer grounding in both material typology and ritual function, and can be cited in catalogue texts or bibliographies when discussing Lobi headstakes and related objects. Informant Bakari CAB35328