Seated Figure
Lobi Artist, Burkina Faso

Details
Title
Seated Figure
Artist/Maker
Lobi Artist, Burkina Faso
Date
Late nineteenth–early twentieth century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
6.25 x 5 inches
Credit
Purchase with funds from Jane Fahey and Emmet Bondurant in memory of Alan Brandt
Accession #
2003.35
On View
Currently not on view
A miniature masterpiece, this sculpture might be seen as the Lobi version of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. Its contemplative posture and the despairing gesture of its large hands give it emotional weight. Known by the Lobi people as bateba, sculptures like this one were carved to act as intermediaries between people and protective sprits called thila. The sculptures are considered animate, carrying out the orders of thila, protecting individuals and communities from harm.
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