Description: An early, hand-carved and hand-painted colonial, wooden colonial figure in a formal suit and a jaunty pose by the Baule people of Ivory Coast. Colonial figures represent the influence of the European settlers to the former French Colony of West Africa. This male figure in a suit is primitive in design and carved from a single piece of wood. The bright colors imitate the different outfits worn by the colonialists. These unique carvings depict every day professions. Traditionally, a Baulé woman would have a carving made of her "spirit lover", an idealized vision of her future husband, who would have attributes such as strength and athleticism. A charming art-form with wonderful expressions, this genre of art evolved after the colonial period. Desired societal values began to be reflected so that colonial carvings were depicted as businessmen or in professions depicting wealth, prosperity, intelligence and status. They are often characterised by recurrent decorative motifs, such as pith helmets, suits, official uniforms or tobacco pipes, and are painted in bright or glossy colours with vegetable-based paints. As a genre, colon statues originated in West Africa, apparently among the Baoulé in Ivory Coast. It achieved international popularity after World War Il and after decolonisation. It has been argued that the genre originated as an African response to colonisation and the repression at the hands of the colonial state. It is debated whether the statues were originally seen as satirical caricatures of colonial officials or simply depictions of new subjects in local styles. Whether the original statues were intended to be purely ornamental or also served a ritual function is also debated by anthropologists. 14” Tall Circa 1960s
Price: 95 USD
Location: Brookline, Massachusetts
End Time: 2024-07-13T22:52:57.000Z
Shipping Cost: 12.95 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Color: Cream
Original/Reproduction: Original
Material: Wood
Tribe: Baule
