Carved female figure

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Female figure, 20th century
West Africa, Ivory Coast, Baule people
Wood

Donated by A G Walker, 1965
Museum number 1965-40

This form of Baule sculpture can represent different types of spirits - nature spirits, believed to have the power to possess human beings, and spirit spouses. Every Baule had a spouse in the spirit world, whom he or she left behind to join the world of the living. The highly polished wood and serene expression appealed to European taste.