Collection record · Objects & craft
Figure (baàthíl)
The collection record classifies this work as sculpture. It is dated c. 1900. Recorded culture or place: Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Figure (baàthíl)
- Date
- c. 1900
- Culture / origin
- Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist
- Materials and technique
- Wood and organic materials
- Dimensions
- Overall: 63.6 cm (25 1/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1967.152
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This headpost (baàthíl) was likely a temporary sanctuary for khélé, a harmful spirit released after killing a person or dangerous animal. Around 1900, members of the Milkuùr religious association used baàthíla to counteract khélé. While the head resembles that of a teenage girl with pierced upper lip and earlobes, the roughly hewn, pole-like bottom suggests otherwise. Buried in an altar, devotees ritually applied materials that darkened the exposed head. When the owner died, the khélé left the sculpture; no longer sacred, it was buried. Milkuùr’s strict rules ensure these objects are made from the appropriate wood and that artists’ names remain secret.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph M. Coe from various donors · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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