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BLANCHET & Associés
208
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Baule monkey figure, Ivory Coast, wood, H.
See original version (French)
208
-
Baule monkey figure, Ivory Coast, wood, H.
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
Baule monkey figure, Ivory Coast, wood, H.56cmxW.10cm (plinth). Cup-bearing simian statues, commonly known as "gbèkrè" since they were first mentioned by Maurice Delafosse in 1900, belong to the group of amwin, or "objects of power", in Baule culture. Part of initiation societies reserved for men, they offer both iconographic and functional diversity (supports for prophylactic practices, linked to agrarian rites or even a divinatory practice known as mbra). Each of these types is designated by a specific term (aboya, mbotumbo, ndyadan, gbèkrè, etc.). Here, the cynocephalous nature of the representation would link it to the mbotumbo type. It is distinguished by the beautiful tension created by the fluted volumes with sharp edges, playing on a powerful interplay of curves and counter-curves.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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