Male Figure from a Pair (asye usu)
Unknown Artist
late 1800s–early 1900s
Medium
Wood, resin, glass beads, plant fiber, and metal
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.495,"width":0.091,"depth":0.13}}
Classification
Sculpture
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Katherine C. White
Accession Number
1971.297.1
About this artwork
Baule figures carved as pairs usually represent untamed spirits of the wilderness called asye usu. These spirits may intervene in the lives of individuals by taking possession of them. If this possession does not result in madness, it can lead to the human host’s becoming a diviner who can enter into a trance to reveal the causes of ailments and other misfortunes. People who feel their lives are being interrupted by the asye usu commission carvings representing idealized male and female forms wh...