BAULE Simian Statue (Rare Variant)

A rare 19th-century wooden simian figure (57 cm) from the Baule of the Ivory Coast — standing upright rather than squatting, with a swollen pregnant-like abdomen, its hand resting on its belly, and no sacrificial cup.

1. The Anomaly in the Canon

Among Mbotumbo figures, this one is unusual enough to merit its own attention.

• Upright Posture: Instead of the characteristic squat, this simian stands almost human-like — closer to a hominid stance than a monkey's crouch.
• No Cup: The absence of the standard sacrificial bowl breaks the defining pattern of the type, signaling that this figure served a different or more specialized function.

2. The Swollen Belly

The pregnant-like abdomen is the visual key to the figure's purpose.

• Fertility Meets Bush Magic: The combination of simian wildness with gestational swelling suggests a commission addressing a very specific crisis — one that fused fertility, digestive affliction, or bewitchment of the womb.
• Hand on Stomach: The self-touching gesture focuses attention on the belly, making it the figure's thematic and ritual center.

3. 19th-Century Elite Status

Pre-colonial survival and thematic rarity combine.

• Surviving the Forest: To remain intact from the 1800s in the Ivorian climate, this figure must have been meticulously protected inside a diviner's hidden shrine.
• Museum-Tier Rarity: The anomalous iconography and deep patina together place this piece in the upper tier of surviving Baule bush-spirit sculpture.

Summary

This Baule simian is the rare anomaly of its type. Standing upright with a swollen belly and no cup, it answers a specialized crisis blending fertility and bush magic — a 19th-century one-off in the Mbotumbo tradition.