Standing Figure Pendant, Bateba Dunoni
Lobi, Burkina Faso
Bronze
Early 20th century

In Burkinabé cultures there is a pervasive fear of sorcery. Among the Lobi, portable Bateba figures like this were carried as a defense to repel witchcraft (Roy & Wheelock, Land of the Flying Masks: Art and Culture in Burkina Faso, 2007).

The Lobi people number 250,000 and live across Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, and Ghana. They revere spirits known as Thil. Shrines are built to these spirits under the instruction of a sorcerer and placed either on the roof or inside the home and are filled with objects such as vessels, abstract iron figures, and stone and wood figures known as Bateba, which are believed to embody the Thil spirits (Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa, 1998).  

Ex. Christie’s Paris, 11 December 2007, Lot 155.

2.875 in :: 7.25 cm

InventoryID #13-2655

Price on Request