.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
FORMAL PERFECTION: A UNIQUE BAULE JANIFORM COUPLE
By Alain-Michel Boyer
Although the Baule people have double masks to celebrate twins, and helmet masks with two opposing faces, and though the notions of duality, of a fusion between individuals, lies at the heart of their vision of the world, this type of janiform figure is unique in their culture, and its formal perfection makes it a masterpiece among their art. The skill displayed by the carver means, however, that it is difficult to imagine he could have made such an accomplished piece without having created similar works before this one – statues that are no doubt lost forever.
Nature spirits, or asie usu, are frequently represented by a pair of fgures1 who reflect the sexual duality of the two supreme gods: one male, the Sky (Nyamien), the other female, the Earth (Asie). Occasionally, we find examples where the male and female figures have been carved from a single piece of wood, side by side.2 But the concept of placing them back to back, in one monoxylous block, joined at the neck and spine like Siamese twins ignoring each other, their eyes fixed in opposite directions, giving them an air of vigilance, is highly unusual among the Baule. There are several explanations for this unique sculptural approach. During a crisis of possession, the diviner – the komyenfwe or awefwe (“being of the frontier”, the one which separates the visible and invisible)- is always visited by his personal spirits, which often appear in an incongruous or extraordinary position, or with deformities. But they always want to be transmuted and enhanced by art, and shown as humans, not as monsters. In the case of this work, the diviner, who is also a seer, might have seen them in that particular attitude, and it is likely that he communicated to the carver the spirits’ desire to be rendered in the form of a single being with two bodies and two heads, to express their reciprocal attachment. Furthermore, this unusual representation would attract people’s attention, arouse their curiosity, and increase the medium’s prestige and renown among his clientele. Throughout the dancing and trances, the statue is placed at the center of the ceremonial area: divination is a therapy, but also a spectacle.
Is there another more trivial, practical reason for this arrangement? The best known diviners, who are often called to other villages, must pack the instruments of their profession in a bag before setting of (gong, hat, fy whisk that acts as a scepter, etc.). Perhaps this more compact statuette, which embodies both the female and male aspects of the spirits in one piece, was easier to transport. Yet this theory would ignore the fact that aesthetic concerns are even more important, and reflect values of a mystical, metaphysical nature.
The artist has constructed these figures in an assertive position, with a sophisticated symmetry, arranging their parts on either side of imaginary axes. In doing so, he intended to create, in opposition to the chaotic world inhabited by the spirits – the bush – two joined bodies, strengthened, in full possession of themselves and their knowledge, in order to offer an architectonic quality, a rational order, and harmonious forms. Viewed from the side, the figures hold their arms by their sides, joined elbow to elbow, defining four triangles. Below, echoing them, is the diamond shape formed by the slightly flexed legs. This geometric vision accentuates the fusion of the bodies, it seems to seal them, bind them, incorporate them together, emphasizing the idea of an organic whole. These sculptural themes are continued in the front view, except here the lines are not straight, but curved. On the two faces, similar curves form heart shapes: arches – known as tre ba – outline the hair, but also suggest brows, eyes, chins. Identical eyelids are lowered to reflect inner concentration. The forearms are delicately folded, while the hands are arranged in similar fashion on either side of the naval – the Baule people believe that spirits appear in this way to diviners during an encounter, in a sign of welcome. Yet each figure retains a certain individuality, a sexual differentiation, although this is not particularly marked on this piece, to intensify the impression of fusion between them. Apart from the short, elegantly curved beard worn by the male, and his nose, which is slightly thicker, the two figures are mainly distinguished by the difference in the extent and position of the scarifications, the baule ngole – literally “Baule signs” (of recognition). Before falling out of use after Independence, scarification was used to identify not just the community but the individual. These distinguishing features were signifiers of social status, identity, rank and merit. On the bridge of the nose, there are three simple protuberances on the woman’s face; on the man’s, there are two horizontal lines of four. On the woman’s abdomen, two diagonal groups converge with a third vertical group, while the man displays two rectangles formed of some 30 protuberances.
This is a work which rejects artificial juxtaposition and highlights harmony and symmetry. It celebrates stability, a joining of forces, resolution. In opposition to Western art, in which this type of janiform iconography is a sign of bipolarization, with two antithetical aspects, 4 these figures express a balanced duality, complete harmony, fulfillment that is not fragmented or broken - a sign that Baule art is based on controlled tension. Surrounded by the chaos of the world, and the diseases that the medium must identify, confront and heal, this astonishing work of sculptural synthesis introduces the idea of an original unity that can only be preserved through artistic creation: it is the role of the statue to re-establish, maintain and celebrate the indissoluble alliance, the source of energy.
1. This is the case, for example, with the well-known “Pair of Diviner’s Figures” at the Met (1978.412.390-.39), donated by Nelson A. Rockefeller.
2. This is the case with the pair of asie usu at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, the Stanley Collection.
3. See: Alain-Michel Boyer, Baule, “Visions of Africa”, Milan, 5 Continents, 2008, pp. 32-36.
4. The old man / the young girl; Beauty / the Beast, etc. One example of this is a Renaissance work by the sculptor Michel Colombe: the double face on the tomb of François II, Duke of Brittany, in Nantes cathedral, France.
By Alain-Michel Boyer
Although the Baule people have double masks to celebrate twins, and helmet masks with two opposing faces, and though the notions of duality, of a fusion between individuals, lies at the heart of their vision of the world, this type of janiform figure is unique in their culture, and its formal perfection makes it a masterpiece among their art. The skill displayed by the carver means, however, that it is difficult to imagine he could have made such an accomplished piece without having created similar works before this one – statues that are no doubt lost forever.
Nature spirits, or asie usu, are frequently represented by a pair of fgures1 who reflect the sexual duality of the two supreme gods: one male, the Sky (Nyamien), the other female, the Earth (Asie). Occasionally, we find examples where the male and female figures have been carved from a single piece of wood, side by side.2 But the concept of placing them back to back, in one monoxylous block, joined at the neck and spine like Siamese twins ignoring each other, their eyes fixed in opposite directions, giving them an air of vigilance, is highly unusual among the Baule. There are several explanations for this unique sculptural approach. During a crisis of possession, the diviner – the komyenfwe or awefwe (“being of the frontier”, the one which separates the visible and invisible)- is always visited by his personal spirits, which often appear in an incongruous or extraordinary position, or with deformities. But they always want to be transmuted and enhanced by art, and shown as humans, not as monsters. In the case of this work, the diviner, who is also a seer, might have seen them in that particular attitude, and it is likely that he communicated to the carver the spirits’ desire to be rendered in the form of a single being with two bodies and two heads, to express their reciprocal attachment. Furthermore, this unusual representation would attract people’s attention, arouse their curiosity, and increase the medium’s prestige and renown among his clientele. Throughout the dancing and trances, the statue is placed at the center of the ceremonial area: divination is a therapy, but also a spectacle.
Is there another more trivial, practical reason for this arrangement? The best known diviners, who are often called to other villages, must pack the instruments of their profession in a bag before setting of (gong, hat, fy whisk that acts as a scepter, etc.). Perhaps this more compact statuette, which embodies both the female and male aspects of the spirits in one piece, was easier to transport. Yet this theory would ignore the fact that aesthetic concerns are even more important, and reflect values of a mystical, metaphysical nature.
The artist has constructed these figures in an assertive position, with a sophisticated symmetry, arranging their parts on either side of imaginary axes. In doing so, he intended to create, in opposition to the chaotic world inhabited by the spirits – the bush – two joined bodies, strengthened, in full possession of themselves and their knowledge, in order to offer an architectonic quality, a rational order, and harmonious forms. Viewed from the side, the figures hold their arms by their sides, joined elbow to elbow, defining four triangles. Below, echoing them, is the diamond shape formed by the slightly flexed legs. This geometric vision accentuates the fusion of the bodies, it seems to seal them, bind them, incorporate them together, emphasizing the idea of an organic whole. These sculptural themes are continued in the front view, except here the lines are not straight, but curved. On the two faces, similar curves form heart shapes: arches – known as tre ba – outline the hair, but also suggest brows, eyes, chins. Identical eyelids are lowered to reflect inner concentration. The forearms are delicately folded, while the hands are arranged in similar fashion on either side of the naval – the Baule people believe that spirits appear in this way to diviners during an encounter, in a sign of welcome. Yet each figure retains a certain individuality, a sexual differentiation, although this is not particularly marked on this piece, to intensify the impression of fusion between them. Apart from the short, elegantly curved beard worn by the male, and his nose, which is slightly thicker, the two figures are mainly distinguished by the difference in the extent and position of the scarifications, the baule ngole – literally “Baule signs” (of recognition). Before falling out of use after Independence, scarification was used to identify not just the community but the individual. These distinguishing features were signifiers of social status, identity, rank and merit. On the bridge of the nose, there are three simple protuberances on the woman’s face; on the man’s, there are two horizontal lines of four. On the woman’s abdomen, two diagonal groups converge with a third vertical group, while the man displays two rectangles formed of some 30 protuberances.
This is a work which rejects artificial juxtaposition and highlights harmony and symmetry. It celebrates stability, a joining of forces, resolution. In opposition to Western art, in which this type of janiform iconography is a sign of bipolarization, with two antithetical aspects, 4 these figures express a balanced duality, complete harmony, fulfillment that is not fragmented or broken - a sign that Baule art is based on controlled tension. Surrounded by the chaos of the world, and the diseases that the medium must identify, confront and heal, this astonishing work of sculptural synthesis introduces the idea of an original unity that can only be preserved through artistic creation: it is the role of the statue to re-establish, maintain and celebrate the indissoluble alliance, the source of energy.
1. This is the case, for example, with the well-known “Pair of Diviner’s Figures” at the Met (1978.412.390-.39), donated by Nelson A. Rockefeller.
2. This is the case with the pair of asie usu at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, the Stanley Collection.
3. See: Alain-Michel Boyer, Baule, “Visions of Africa”, Milan, 5 Continents, 2008, pp. 32-36.
4. The old man / the young girl; Beauty / the Beast, etc. One example of this is a Renaissance work by the sculptor Michel Colombe: the double face on the tomb of François II, Duke of Brittany, in Nantes cathedral, France.