Maternity statue - Baule - Côte d'Ivoire
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Selected by Julien Gauthier
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Estimate € 280 - € 330
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Baoulé maternity statue from Côte d'Ivoire, carved in wood with a natural fibre cord, standing about 55 cm high and in good condition.
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Description from the seller
Ivory Coast
Baoulé
Wood and cord
Height: 550 mm
Width: 110 mm
Depth: 140 mm
This 55 cm tall wooden sculpture is a classical and powerful representation of motherhood, originating from the Baoulé ethnic group of Ivory Coast. It portrays a standing female figure bearing her child, a universal theme but here treated according to the strict aesthetic and spiritual codes of Akan culture.
Here is a detailed analysis of its origin, stylistic criteria, and ritual uses.
1. Origin and Stylistic Characteristics
Baoulé art is distinguished by its search for harmony, symmetry, and the finesse of detail. This statue brings together the most prestigious markers of this style:
The Maternity Iconography: The woman carries a child strapped to her back. The child tightly embraces the mother's torso, its small legs gripping her hips with great natural ease.
The Somitale Hairdo: The mother's head is crowned with a monumental, tiered headpiece or headdress, ending in a very graphic conical or pointed shape. This elaborately crafted coiffure expresses high social status, nobility, and dignity.
Cheloid Scarifications: The body of the statue is richly adorned with traditional raised scarifications (cheloids). Distinct vertical and horizontal series appear on the face (around the mouth and on the cheeks), on the chest, as well as a very dense geometric pattern on the protruding abdomen surrounding the navel. Among the Baoulé, these marks are symbols of civilization, ideal beauty, and cultural belonging.
Ritual Elements and Patina: The statue features a dark, crusty patina in places, evidence of its age and ritual handling. There is also a cord or link made of natural fibers tied around the mother's neck, an addition often linked to devotion practices or protective rituals.
2. Functional and Ritual Use
In Baoulé society, a maternity statue of this size fulfills major spiritual and therapeutic roles:
A. The Cult of Fertility and Protection
The depiction of a mother carrying her child is the ultimate symbol of lineage continuity and life.
These statues were frequently commissioned by women or couples facing infertility issues, or who had suffered the painful loss of young children.
Under the guidance of a diviner (wanzan), the statue became the receptacle for protective spirits. The woman would care for it, wash it, oil it with oil or kaolin, and make symbolic offerings to encourage a pregnancy to term and to protect the newborn from invisible forces or diseases.
B. The Wife from the Beyond (Blolo Bla)
Although the maternity theme is very specific, this sculpture can also represent a particularly honored form of Blolo Bla (the spouse of the spirit world).
If the diviner considered that a man’s spiritual wife required being depicted as an accomplished mother to appease her jealousy or to address an imbalance in the person’s earthly life, such a statuette would be carved.
Luxurious details (complex scarifications, high coiffure) serve to flatter the spirit so that it grants its blessing (prosperity, health, offspring) to the earthly home.
In summary
This 55 cm Baoulé maternity figure is a superb example of West African ritual art. Through the balance of its shapes and the richness of its body motifs, it embodies not only the Akan aesthetic ideal but also the deep hopes of protection, fertility, and a sacred link between the living world and the world of the ancestors.
Items are shipped with insurance and tracking number.
Fast and secure shipping. Parcels are sent Monday through Saturday.
Delivery between 1 to 3 days in France, 2 to 5 days across Europe.
Seller's Story
Passionate about World Arts and more specifically about African Art, we buy from collectors, former officials, military, health workers, public works staff who have worked in Africa and also in Côte d'Ivoire, from antique dealers and traders who roam across West Africa to find quality objects.
It is with pride that we present works that, beyond their power to beautify spaces, invite our collectors to resonate with the richness and depth of human expression through the most authentic art.
At Arts Ethniques Gallery, we have the privilege of offering our visitors an exclusive selection of artworks, all unique and original. Each piece presented is the outcome of a demanding artistic approach, driven by a singular vision and mastered craftsmanship, all elements that guarantee authenticity and value.
The works we offer are not industrial reproductions. They are individual creations, crafted with sensitivity and precision, each bearing its own story, identity and presence. Originality is the very foundation of our commitment to excellence. Thus, every mask and every statue in our collection is the subject of a rigorous selection, in order to preserve their rarity and singularity.
Acquiring a work from Arts Ethniques Gallery means owning a truly unique piece: a creation that embodies both talent, cultural memory and the expressive force of African art. It is also a lasting investment in a work whose artistic and emotional value transcends time.
We guarantee that every work leaving our gallery is an authentic piece, without replicas, bearing witness to the creativity, heritage and passion of the African artists who shaped them.
We invite you to participate in our gallery’s auctions with confidence. Each presented work is an original, unique and irreplaceable creation, selected with the greatest rigor to guarantee its authenticity and artistic value.
Whether you wish to enrich a personal collection or introduce an exceptional artwork into your space, Arts Ethniques Gallery offers a safe, transparent and professional setting to acquire remarkable pieces.
Art auctions are a privileged moment to discover rare works, capable of becoming the heart of a collection. Acquiring a work at our sales is not just buying an object: it is investing in a creation whose aesthetic value and cultural reach reinforce over time.
The pieces presented by Arts Ethniques Gallery testify not only to the talent and vision of the artists but also possess the ability to transform spaces and enrich the gaze of those who behold them.
Participating in our auctions is taking part in a singular experience, where the passion for art meets the rigors of collecting. Bidding on a work from Arts Ethniques Gallery goes beyond a simple transaction: it is a gesture of commitment and appreciation for art in its most authentic form.
We invite you to bid with passion and to join us in this adventure dedicated to discovery, transmission and celebration of art.
Perhaps your next heart piece is already waiting for you."
Translated by Google TranslateIvory Coast
Baoulé
Wood and cord
Height: 550 mm
Width: 110 mm
Depth: 140 mm
This 55 cm tall wooden sculpture is a classical and powerful representation of motherhood, originating from the Baoulé ethnic group of Ivory Coast. It portrays a standing female figure bearing her child, a universal theme but here treated according to the strict aesthetic and spiritual codes of Akan culture.
Here is a detailed analysis of its origin, stylistic criteria, and ritual uses.
1. Origin and Stylistic Characteristics
Baoulé art is distinguished by its search for harmony, symmetry, and the finesse of detail. This statue brings together the most prestigious markers of this style:
The Maternity Iconography: The woman carries a child strapped to her back. The child tightly embraces the mother's torso, its small legs gripping her hips with great natural ease.
The Somitale Hairdo: The mother's head is crowned with a monumental, tiered headpiece or headdress, ending in a very graphic conical or pointed shape. This elaborately crafted coiffure expresses high social status, nobility, and dignity.
Cheloid Scarifications: The body of the statue is richly adorned with traditional raised scarifications (cheloids). Distinct vertical and horizontal series appear on the face (around the mouth and on the cheeks), on the chest, as well as a very dense geometric pattern on the protruding abdomen surrounding the navel. Among the Baoulé, these marks are symbols of civilization, ideal beauty, and cultural belonging.
Ritual Elements and Patina: The statue features a dark, crusty patina in places, evidence of its age and ritual handling. There is also a cord or link made of natural fibers tied around the mother's neck, an addition often linked to devotion practices or protective rituals.
2. Functional and Ritual Use
In Baoulé society, a maternity statue of this size fulfills major spiritual and therapeutic roles:
A. The Cult of Fertility and Protection
The depiction of a mother carrying her child is the ultimate symbol of lineage continuity and life.
These statues were frequently commissioned by women or couples facing infertility issues, or who had suffered the painful loss of young children.
Under the guidance of a diviner (wanzan), the statue became the receptacle for protective spirits. The woman would care for it, wash it, oil it with oil or kaolin, and make symbolic offerings to encourage a pregnancy to term and to protect the newborn from invisible forces or diseases.
B. The Wife from the Beyond (Blolo Bla)
Although the maternity theme is very specific, this sculpture can also represent a particularly honored form of Blolo Bla (the spouse of the spirit world).
If the diviner considered that a man’s spiritual wife required being depicted as an accomplished mother to appease her jealousy or to address an imbalance in the person’s earthly life, such a statuette would be carved.
Luxurious details (complex scarifications, high coiffure) serve to flatter the spirit so that it grants its blessing (prosperity, health, offspring) to the earthly home.
In summary
This 55 cm Baoulé maternity figure is a superb example of West African ritual art. Through the balance of its shapes and the richness of its body motifs, it embodies not only the Akan aesthetic ideal but also the deep hopes of protection, fertility, and a sacred link between the living world and the world of the ancestors.
Items are shipped with insurance and tracking number.
Fast and secure shipping. Parcels are sent Monday through Saturday.
Delivery between 1 to 3 days in France, 2 to 5 days across Europe.
Seller's Story
Passionate about World Arts and more specifically about African Art, we buy from collectors, former officials, military, health workers, public works staff who have worked in Africa and also in Côte d'Ivoire, from antique dealers and traders who roam across West Africa to find quality objects.
It is with pride that we present works that, beyond their power to beautify spaces, invite our collectors to resonate with the richness and depth of human expression through the most authentic art.
At Arts Ethniques Gallery, we have the privilege of offering our visitors an exclusive selection of artworks, all unique and original. Each piece presented is the outcome of a demanding artistic approach, driven by a singular vision and mastered craftsmanship, all elements that guarantee authenticity and value.
The works we offer are not industrial reproductions. They are individual creations, crafted with sensitivity and precision, each bearing its own story, identity and presence. Originality is the very foundation of our commitment to excellence. Thus, every mask and every statue in our collection is the subject of a rigorous selection, in order to preserve their rarity and singularity.
Acquiring a work from Arts Ethniques Gallery means owning a truly unique piece: a creation that embodies both talent, cultural memory and the expressive force of African art. It is also a lasting investment in a work whose artistic and emotional value transcends time.
We guarantee that every work leaving our gallery is an authentic piece, without replicas, bearing witness to the creativity, heritage and passion of the African artists who shaped them.
We invite you to participate in our gallery’s auctions with confidence. Each presented work is an original, unique and irreplaceable creation, selected with the greatest rigor to guarantee its authenticity and artistic value.
Whether you wish to enrich a personal collection or introduce an exceptional artwork into your space, Arts Ethniques Gallery offers a safe, transparent and professional setting to acquire remarkable pieces.
Art auctions are a privileged moment to discover rare works, capable of becoming the heart of a collection. Acquiring a work at our sales is not just buying an object: it is investing in a creation whose aesthetic value and cultural reach reinforce over time.
The pieces presented by Arts Ethniques Gallery testify not only to the talent and vision of the artists but also possess the ability to transform spaces and enrich the gaze of those who behold them.
Participating in our auctions is taking part in a singular experience, where the passion for art meets the rigors of collecting. Bidding on a work from Arts Ethniques Gallery goes beyond a simple transaction: it is a gesture of commitment and appreciation for art in its most authentic form.
We invite you to bid with passion and to join us in this adventure dedicated to discovery, transmission and celebration of art.
Perhaps your next heart piece is already waiting for you."
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Indigenous object name
Maternity statue
Ethnic group/ culture
Baule
Country of Origin
Côte d'Ivoire
Material
Cord / Wood
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Good condition
Sold by
