Blolo bla statuette, Baule, Ivory Coast

Statuette of a Spirit Wife, known as Blolo Bla
Baule Culture, Côte d’Ivoire, late 19th – early 20th century
Wood
Height: 36 cm

Provenance:
Private collection

Comparable works:
Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, former Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière Collection. Inv. 70.2017.66.28

The Blolo Bla represents the mystical wife of its owner in the spiritual world, known as Blolo (the world of the beyond). This object is used in a spiritual and ritual context.

Depicting a beautiful young woman standing with her hands on her stomach as a symbol of fertility, she bears numerous scarifications and an elaborate hairstyle.

Our piece is by the same master as a male asie usu statuette from the former Ladreit de Lacharrière collection, now held at the Musée du Quai Branly. Indeed, it features the same half-closed eyes with striated lower lids, similarly shaped scarifications, and equally thick lips. In both cases, there is a finely striated band between the forehead and the hairstyle. The two statuettes share the same sophisticated coiffure, with an elaborate bun composed of a conical structure on top of the head (ko glo) and a double bun (tre si koble) at the nape of the neck.