Description

A very naturalistic carving of a Lobi wood polychrome fetish of a bird.
Carved out of a heavy weight wood with traces of polychrome paint remaining, the neck is adorned with cowrie shells.
The bird may represent a turtle-dove, one of the animal subjects often depicted in Lobi sculpture.
The sacred bird is honored and revered by the Lobi at the diviner’s altar or at the family’s altar, placed next to the founding ancestors.
Once the bird fetish has gained its place at the altar, it will never be moved. It has gained a special position and must be respected for the pact that it has made with the ancestors.
Altar sculptures of birds are characteristically very naturalistic and its size is true to nature. Its pose is dictated by the thil, or supernatural spirit, and instructions for it are provided to the diviner.
At the altar, food, such as seeds, wild comestible berries, etc will always be present beside the turtle-dove and is central to the cult of the fetish.
Rich patina, sacrificial encrustations, traces of European paint, mid 20th century – Collected in Burkina Faso.

Length: 28 cm (11″)
Width: 12 cm (4 3/4″)
Height: 7,5 cm (2 7/8″)
Weight: 470 grams (1 lb)