Description
A Baule Seated Figure Seated figure Baule, Côte d'Ivoire Ohne Sockel / without base Wood. H 49 cm. Provenance: - Center des Sciences Humaines, Abidjan. - 1969: Jean-Louis Rinsoz (1932-1971), Vevey. - Heirs of Jean-Louis Rinsoz, French-speaking Switzerland. Exhibited: Africa 69, Arts de la Côte-d'Ivoire et de l'Afrique occidentale. Vevey (1969). "We can't live without beautiful things" - this statement by a Baule could also have come from the mouth of a Western art lover. Surrounding themselves with attractive objects was as fundamental a concern for the Baule in Côte d'Ivoire as it was for Western collectors of African art. This Baule approach to life was expressed in finely crafted ritual figures as well as in lovingly decorated everyday objects. The classification of the figures called "waka sran" (also "waka-sona") (waka = wood, sran or sona = person, statue, idol) is difficult outside of the social context and in retrospect. In general, a distinction is made between symbolic partners from the "other world" and divination figures, although the boundary between these groups was often blurred. The loving blolo-bla and blolo-bian figures are based on the idea that every Baule has a spiritual partner in the afterlife (blolo = other world), i.e. a wife (bla) or a husband (bian), and must strive to live in the best possible relationship with them. If he does not succeed in this, his partner in the other world will make life difficult for him. The more sacrificial "divination figures" are called asye-usu and are associated with all untamed things of nature. They were used in ritual acts to attract the attention of the bush spirits. These omnipresent beings always had to be appeased, also because they were considered to be extremely capricious and could occasionally take possession of the unwary. Further reading: Vogel, Susan M. (1997). Baule. Yale: University Press. ----------------------------------------------------- Jean-Louis Rinsoz Jean-Louis Rinsoz was born in Vevey in 1932. After completing his schooling, he studied economics at the University of Lausanne (Faculty of Business Administration, HEC) before joining the family business "Rinsoz et Ormond SA" in Vevey, which manufactured tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Deeply attached to his home region, he was always closely involved in Vevey's social, cultural and industrial activities. In order to diversify the sources of tobacco supply and meet the growing demands of an expanding market, Jean-Louis Rinsoz looked for new production areas. His travels took him first to Maryland (USA) and then, in the mid-1960s, to Côte d'Ivoire. This country was a revelation for him. Everything he was passionate about was there: the nature, the people and their culture! In addition to developing a significant economic partnership with the Ivorian state by setting up several tobacco production centers there, Jean-Louis Rinsoz financed the opening of a number of small schools to provide access to education for the children of this country. He was officially appointed by the Ivorian state as "Honorary Consul of Côte d'Ivoire in Switzerland, based in Vevey" and was even inaugurated as village chief in the Baoulé region. He was equally fascinated by the traditional art of these regions, in its social, aesthetic and religious dimensions. It was in this context that he met the ethnologist and art historian Bohumil Holas, who was then director of the Museum of Civilizations of Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan. The two men became friends. The confluence of all these factors resulted in the exhibition "Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire. The Treasures of the Abidjan Museum", which was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Vevey in 1969. Jean-Louis Rinsoz was the chairman of the committee. The moving foreword he wrote for the catalog of this event testifies to his deep attachment to this country. Jean-Louis Rinsoz had applied for Ivorian citizenship. He was never to live to see that day, as he died in a tragic accident in 1971. The African objects from Jean-Louis Rinsoz's personal collection have been in the family ever since and this "treasure from Vevey" is being offered to international collectors of traditional African art for the first time at our auction. CHF 20 000 / 30 000 Weight in grams: 2100 Condition: The condition (any wear, signs of use, tears, any other deterioration and the signs of age, etc.) of this lot can be seen in the photos we have uploaded for your documentation. If you have any questions about this item, please do not hesitate to contact Hammer Auctions ([email protected]).
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