Lobi bust, Burkina Faso Hard wood, natural patina H.... Lot 2

Lobi bust, Burkina Faso Hard wood, natural patina H. 37 cm Lobi bust, Burkina Faso H. 14 9/16 in Provenance : - Former collection Bertrand Goy Fragment of a large Lobi bateba statue. The serene face with its closed eyes and slightly drooping eyelids, lined with thick eyebrows, has been preserved, as has the traditional hairstyle of the Gaoua region, made up of braids carefully pulled back and enhanced by a crest in the center. The mouth, whose upper lip is decorated with a labret, indicates a female representation. The strong erosion of the torso, which has been subjected to very hard wood, suggests the age of the sculpture, which was abandoned for decades on the site of a village abandoned by its inhabitants, who were convinced that the gods and the ancestors no longer ensured its protection.