BAULE Simian Statue (Mbotumbo / Gbekre)

A deeply patinated 19th-century wooden monkey (68 cm) from the Baule of the Ivory Coast — squatting, baring its teeth, carved holding the traditional sacrificial bowl in front of its chest.

1. The Amuin Bush Spirit

This figure is the largest of the three Baule simians in the collection at 68 cm.

• Elder of the Trio: Scale signals seniority within a diviner's altar — the largest Mbotumbo typically anchors the shrine.
• Antithesis of Grace: Like all Mbotumbo, it stands deliberately opposed to the polished, serene human-figure canon for which the Baule are famous. It embodies chaos, aggression, and unpredictable bush power.

2. The Sacrificial Bowl

The carved cup in front of the chest is the figure's working surface.

• Direct Libations: Raw eggs, chewed kola nuts, and animal blood were poured directly into the bowl during activation rituals.
• Patina as Proof: The thick, flaking, blackened crust across the entire body is the accumulated physical evidence of decades of these offerings — a shrine's résumé in layered fat and protein.

3. 19th-Century Antiquity

Surviving from the 1800s in the termite-rich Ivorian forest is itself a feat.

• Protected Indoors: This figure must have been kept sequestered in a komien (trance diviner's) private shrine, away from weather and pests.
• Elite Museum Status: Pre-colonial survival elevates the piece from a generic sacrificial object to a rare, documented ancestor of its own kind.

Summary

This large Baule Mbotumbo is the senior member of its simian trio. Its crusted patina and 19th-century origins place it among the most forceful surviving examples of Ivorian bush magic — a heavyweight weapon of trance-diviner defense.