Untitled

Sculpture

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Untitled

Entry/Object ID

2001.51

Description

Wooden sculpture of a male figure with two heads coming out the left and right sides of the top. Arms are straight at the side and do not touch the torso. Legs are straight, not touching, with block like feet. The sculpture stands on a platform.

Artwork Details

Medium

Wood

Context

In Lobi religion, there is belief in a supreme God. As stories are told before the supreme God retired because of constant conflict between men and women he gave human beings spirits that helped their affairs through life. These spirits is known as Thila. The bateba figure in the Lobi tradition is a spiritual figure used to fight against evil spirits. The figure is seen as an intercessors between the living and the spirit world. Bateba can be translated as spiritual or religious object, but this object in particular is a thil dorka figure because it has two heads. This figure represents this deity and symbolizes the deity’s power to see two directions at one time, which makes the deity one of the most dangerous and powerful.

Acquisition

Accession

2001.50-175

Source or Donor

May Weber

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of the May Weber Foundation

Made/Created

Artist

Unknown artist

Notes

Creation Date: no date

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Continent

Africa

Culture/Tribe

Lobi

Notes

Lobi Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast, Africa Africa, Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

Lobi, Gur, Western Sudanese, West African (general), African (general, continental cultures), personal shrines, visual works (works), spiritualism, philosophical concepts, religious objects, ceremonial objects, object genres (object classifications), sculpture (visual works)

Hierarchy Name

Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Associated Concepts (hierarchy name), Object Genres (hierarchy name)

Facet

Styles and Periods Facet, Objects Facet, Associated Concepts Facet

Dimensions

Width

32.385 cm

Depth

11.43 cm

Length

60.96 cm

Exhibitions

Human Bodies in the Spirit World: African Sculpture from the Weber Collection
The Body and Art: African Sculpture from the Permanent Collection