Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist / c. 1900
Figure (baàthíl)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Figure (baàthíl) as sculpture (Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist · c. 1900).
Historically, figures like this baàthíl were associated with harmful spirits. Less common nowadays, they are used for different reasons, like to relieve suffering from malnutrition.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as Wood and organic materials.
The museum's collection notes: 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 r
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFigure (baàthíl)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.