Fetish bowl- Wood – Fon – Benin

Wooden fetish figure  of the FON tribe from Benin. The power figuress who are standing in a bowl have signs of wear. The statue has clear traces of tribal use due to libations.

Figures like these were placed outdoors and sunk into the earth, becoming wonderfully aged by exposure. Despite their small scale, they seem to gain a spiritual monumentality from being fused with the earth. Standing at the entrance of a village, a courtyard, a house, or a shrine, they served a protective function, barring the entrance of evil spirits.

Provenance: former private collection from the Netherlands