Bocio with opposing faces
This janus figure crowned by a dog's skull powerfully embodies notions of guardianship and surveillance. Such works, known as bocio, are prescribed by Fon priests and diviners to promote their clients' well being. They can be designed for such purposes as influencing the weather, detecting thieves, or shielding one's family from sorcery. Most bocio are proactive defensive mechanisms commissioned by individuals to eliminate agents before they can cause harm. They serve as surrogates for the people who commission them, functioning as decoys and deflecting imminent danger. Positioned along paths, roads, agricultural fields, and near domestic compounds as well as inside homes and shrines, bocio operate at the crossroads between the spiritual and the human realms.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bocio with opposing faces
- Artist: Fon artist
- Artist: Ritual specialist
- Date: Late 19th–mid-20th century
- Geography: Republic of Benin
- Culture: Fon peoples
- Medium: Wood, bone, teeth, wire, applied organic material, textile fragment
- Dimensions: H. 19 1/2 x W. 5 3/4 x D. 5 5/8 in. (49.5 x 14.6 x 14.3 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: Purchase, Denise and Andrew Saul Philanthropic Fund Gift, 1984
- Object Number: 1984.190
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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Fon artist
19th–mid-20th century
Fon artist
early–mid-20th century
Fon artist
19th–mid-20th century
Fon artist
19th–mid-20th century
Fon artist
late 19th century–mid-20th century
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