Maternity Figure – Terracotta- Lobi – Burkina Faso

Lobi maternity terracotta figure from Burkina Faso. Representation of a mother breastfeeding her child.
Such pieces are used in rites related to fertility. Terracotta statues are relatively rare.

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.

Fair condition, contains traces of wear and tear. Seemed to be restored around the legs and neck.

Provenance: former private collection from the Netherlands