The figures below have been sold and are left here for reference and educational
purposes.
For UNSOLD Lobi couples
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Photographs © Tim Hamill
These Lobi figures have been vetted as being authentic, some with significant signs of use and age.
Lobi Figures are the enigmatic, brooding sculpture that protect the Lobi people of Burkina Faso. Ranging in size from 7 - 47" high, most are frontal, symmetrical and timeless sentinels expressing the traditional beliefs of the Lobi. Several, such as these couple figures, depart from the norm with animated gestures, asymmetry or a great degree of symbolic abstraction.
Figures like these were placed on family altars in the thilda, a
small sacristy or room in each dwelling. Each figure was not a representation
but an actual spirit, or tibil thil. It protected the family and
home from illness and other misfortunes. The spirit could also be used for
divination; it could demand offerings and additions of other figures. The
accumulation of statues on a family altar gave social status and were passed
on from father to son. The collection we have on exhibit is large and varied.
Most were frontal and symmetrical, but some have unusually animated gestures.
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GO TO FAMILY MATTERS EXHIBITION PAGE
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