Ancestor Figure – Wood – Lobi – Burkina Faso

Powerfull Lobi figure with raised arm from Burkina Faso.

In Africa, a raised fist is primarily a symbol of solidarity, resistance, and the fight for racial justice and anti-racism. It has been used by various movements, including those against colonialism, apartheid, and for Black Power, particularly in the context of the struggle for civil rights. The gesture is also used to express unity, strength, and defiance against oppression.

Lobi Figures are the enigmatic, brooding sculpture that protect the Lobi people of Burkina Faso. Most are frontal, symmetrical and timeless sentinels expressing the traditional beliefs of the Lobi. Several depart from the norm with animated gestures, asymmetry or a great degree of symbolic abstraction.
The figures were placed on family altars in the thilda, a small sacristy or room in each dwelling. Each figure was not a representation but an actual spirit, or tibil thil. It protected the family and home from illness and other misfortunes. The spirit could also be used for divination; it could demand offerings and additions of other figures. The accumulation of statues on a family altar gave social status and were passed on from father to son. Most were frontal and symmetrical, but some have unusually animated gestures.

Provenance: Manfred Schäfer collection, ex- gallery owner from Ulm, Germany.

Including professional custom made stand.