id:			143174
accession number:	1967.152
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.152
updated:		2023-08-24 11:35:35.235000

Figure (baàthíl), c. 1900. Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist. Wood and organic materials; overall: 63.6 cm (25 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph M. Coe from various donors 1967.152

title:				Figure (baàthíl)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1900
creation date earliest:		1895
creation date latest:		1905
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Gift in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph M. Coe from various donors
copyright:			

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culture:	Burkina Faso, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire, Lobi–style artist
technique:	Wood and organic materials
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 63.6 cm (25 1/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1967
	opening date:   1967-11-29T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1967</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Mathias Komor, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: by at least 1967
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1967-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Historically, figures like this <em>baàthíl</em> were associated with harmful spirits. Less common nowadays, they are used for different reasons, like to relieve suffering from malnutrition.

digital description:
This headpost (<em>baàthíl</em>) was likely a temporary sanctuary for <em>khélé</em>, a harmful spirit released after killing a person or dangerous animal. Around 1900, members of the <em>Milkuùr</em> 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 remain secret.

wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	“Year in Review.” <em>Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> vol. 54, no. 10 (December 1967): 302-347.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 340, fig. 43 (detail); Mentioned: p. 342, no. 43
	url:		https://www-jstor-org.ingallslibrary.idm.oclc.org/stable/25152183?refreqid=excelsior%3A32710a59fa10a109230a2def69a633e2&seq=41#metadata_info_tab_contents

	Meauzé, Pierre. <em>African Art: Sculpture</em> [1st ed.] ed. Cleveland: World Pub. Co., 1968
	page number: 	Reproduced: pp. 48-49
	url:		https://ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/255836

	
	page number: 	p 48-49, illustrated (1968, as M. Komor collection)
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.152/1967.152_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.152/1967.152_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.152/1967.152_full.tif