Figure of a Spirit Husband (Blolo Bian)

Artist Baule Peoples

Place of OriginIvory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

DateLate 19th-early 20th century

DimensionsH: 23 in. (58.4 cm); W: 6 in. (15.2 cm); D: 6 in. (15.2 cm)

MediumWood, pigment.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.68

Not on View

Label TextThe Baule believe that before birth all people were married in the blolo, “other world.” Illness or trouble often is caused by the anger or jealousy of the abandoned spirit spouse. Commissioning a carved figure is one way to please the spirit husband (blolo bian) or wife (blolo bla). Spirit spouses can be demanding and troublesome, but they generously help their human spouses in daily life to be successful, lucky, and rich. As one Baule woman explained, “my husband and I quarreled every day. … When I had [my blolo bian] carved, calm returned to the house.”Exhibition HistoryTMA, What’s Wrong with Me? Art and Disease, April 22-August 7, 2011, (UT Student exhibition).