Male Figure
| Culture | Baule |
|---|---|
| Title | Male Figure (Asie Usu (?)) |
| Date | Late 19th–early 20th century |
| Medium | Wood and incrustation |
| Dimensions | Object: 17 1/4 × 4 3/8 × 4 3/8 in. (43.8 × 11.1 × 11.1 cm) Overall (includes mount): 18 × 4 3/8 × 4 3/8 in. (45.7 × 11.1 × 11.1 cm) |
| Credit Line | Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2000.134 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A standing male figure with its arms at its sides; the arms taper to points while the legs terminate in small rounded ends midway down the calves. The figure has pointed rows of hair wrapping vertically around the head from the forehead, like a mohawk with a smaller, similar formation to each side.
This figure was most likely the physical manifestation of an alliance between an individual and an earth spirit (asie usu), one of the entities believed by the Baule to reside in trees, streams, mountains, and other natural settings. As a result of these alliances, those individuals may gain extraordinary powers, which may lead to their becoming diviners. Crusty surfaces on such figures result when sacrificial offerings of eggs, animal blood, and other organic materials are applied directly to the figures.
Nature-spirit figures are carved to reflect Baule ideals of beauty, since the Baule believe that a figure that is not beautiful may offend the spirit with which it is associated. On this figure, for example, an elaborate hairdo and facial scarification are features that have traditionally been related to Baule ideas about beauty.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Male Figure | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2026. https://collections.artmuseum.indiana.edu/browse/object.php?number=2000.134