Baule diviners are consulted by people who desire assistance in solving significant problems, perhaps relating to childbearing or other health concerns. Sculptures are often an important presence in divining sessions. Diviners may inherit such works from older colleagues or commission them based on the direction of a spirit whose insights they draw upon in their professional consultations.
This pair of sculptures for a trance diviner is among the most renowned masterpieces of Baule art. Though depicted as separate male and female figures, they are perfectly harmonized through matched gestures, stances, and expressions. Together they reflect and embody Baule ideals of civilized beauty, with their elegant coiffures, scarifications, and beaded ornaments. Their slightly downturned gazes and contained postures and their powerful, muscular legs are testimony to the figures' respectful demeanor and youthful health.
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Dimensions:H. 20 11/16 x W. 3 3/8 x D. 3 in. (52.5 x 8.6 x 7.6 cm)
Classification:Wood-Sculpture
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969
Object Number:1978.412.391
[Henri Kamer, Paris and New York, 1960]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1960–1969; The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1969–1978
Vancouver Art Gallery. "The Nude in Art," November 3, 1964–November 29, 1964.
Museum of Primitive Art. "The World of Primitive Art," July 12, 1966–September 11, 1966.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
American Federation of Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–May 15, 1977.
Seattle Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–February 16, 1975.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 23, 1975–May 4, 1975.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 8, 1975–July 20, 1975.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," August 25, 1975–October 10, 1975.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," November 9, 1975–December 21, 1975.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," April 11, 1976–May 25, 1976.
Walker Art Center. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 27, 1976–August 8, 1976.
Denver Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," September 10, 1976–November 7, 1976.
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 12, 1977–May 15, 1977.
National Museum of African Art. "Baule: African Art, Western Eyes," August 30, 1997–May 16, 1999.
Yale University Art Gallery. "Baule: African Art, Western Eyes," August 30, 1997–May 16, 1999.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Baule: African Art, Western Eyes," February 14, 1998–May 10, 1998.
Museum for African Art, New York. "Baule: African Art, Western Eyes," September 11, 1998–January 3, 1999.
Zurich. Museum Rietberg. "Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination," November 15, 1999–February 20, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination," April 24, 2000–July 30, 2000.
Museum Rietberg. "African Masters--Sculptures by Traditional West African Artists," February 14, 2014–June 1, 2014.
Kunst-und Austellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. "African Masters--Sculptures by Traditional West African Artists," June 26, 2014–October 5, 2014.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, no. 326.
American Federation of Arts. Primitive Art Masterworks: an exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Primitive Art and the American Federation of Arts, New York. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1974, no. 68b.
Newton, Douglas. Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, p. 175.
Vogel, Susan M. Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997, p. 236.
LaGamma, Alisa. Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000, pp. 22–23, no. 1.
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