| BAULE Mbra cult monkey figures often known as Gbekre |
| The Baule have monkey figures commonly used for the "Mbra" cult that more or less resemble each other. Endowed with prognathic jaw and sharp teeth and a granular patina resulting from sacrifices, the monkey holds a bowl or a pestle in its paws that was used to hold an egg. Sources differ on its role or function: some say it intervenes in the ritual of divination, others that it is a protection against sorcerers, or a protective divinity of agrarian rites, or a bush spirit. Owned only by trance diviners and certain families, the figure resides hidden outside under a shelter. The sculpture is said to feed on sacrifices brought from the bush and poured all over the figure, leaving it filthy and encrusted. Sources: A History of Art in Africa and Africa and Africa - The Art of A Continent "Baule Monkeys are powerful objects, which are forbidden to be seen in public display. Monkey figures share stylistic features with the mens´s sacred masks, and have some of the qualities of secrecy and danger to women. They combine animal and human traits in such way that it is nearly impossible to separate them, and they have the prominent teeth and boxy muzzle typical of the masks. Both also receive sacrifical offerings directly on the sculpture, and are associated with the bush. Mbra monkey figures, for example are kept in the village, but "fed" with sacrifices in the bush." Susan Vogel, 1997:238 "In Baule culture, cupbearing monkey statues, commonly known as "gbekre" since their first mention in 1900 by Maurice Delafosse, belong to the category of amwin, or "objects of power". They were used by men-only initiation societies for a number of purposes, both functional – as a basis for prophylactic practices, linked to agrarian rites or to a form of divination known as mbra (Bouloré in RMN, 2000: 107 et Vogel, 1997: 221-230) – and iconographic, each type being designated by a specific term (aboya, mbotumbo, ndyadan, gbekre...)." Sotheby's Horrific Baule objects, apparently mostly for Mbra, often incorporate actual skulls into wooden sculptures. In the Baule system , this type of objects is potent and the least likely to be publicly displayed." Susan Vogel, 1997:224 |
| Baule monkey figure 21" tall Wood, cloth, monkey skull, pigment It's my opinion that this figure was most likely made specifically for the collecting market. However I do enjoy it visually. FIGURE IS NO LONGER IN MY COLLECTION "Standing on a circular base the enlarged feet supporting bent legs beneath a cylindrical torso framed by bent arms and hands joined together holding a cup, the real monkey skull with opened mouth fletching the teeth, the pierced back head shows traces of sacrifications, partly encrusted blackened patina. The form of sacrification has a peculiarity, instead of a thick encrustation, like it is typical for a lot of Gbekre and Mbra cult figures of this form, this statue has remains of bone-splinters on parts of the body, which obvious comes from the fontanelle of the monkey´s skull. It could be a ritual act to destroy the fontanelle otherwise - if it would be a damage - the splinter wouldn´t be attached to the sculpture as it is in the bowl, back and base of the figure." - T.A.F. |
| Examples in information below for reference purposes. THEY ARE NOT IN MY COLLECTION |
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| Above is an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY |
| Sotheby's pieces below |
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| Property from a Belgian Collector Sotheby's 2000, Lot 56 A superb Baule monkey figure aboya, of anthropomorphic form, standing on a square base with flat feet and bent legs leading to rounded hips and tapering to the torso with pendant phallus, the muscular shoulders issuing bent arms with stylized hands holding a vessel, the large simian head with prognathous mouth, prominent teeth and ridged nose leading to a raised brow; heavily encrusted and blackened patina. height273/4in. (70.5cm.) Provenance: Lucien van de Velde, Antwerp Estimated $25,000-35,000 SOLD $69,750.00 |
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| A SUPERB BAULE GBEKRE MONKEY FIGURE LOCATION ESTIMATE AUCTION DATE New York 12,000—18,000 USD Session 1 15 May 03 10:15 AM Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 13,200 USD height 20 1/2in. 52.1cm standing on an oval base with crenelated perimeter, the flat elongated feet supporting muscular calves and a forward arching body with raised articulated spinal column, the elongated looping arms holding a hollowed vessel to the front beneath the helmet-like head with large raised circular disks for the ears; fine encrusted varied grey-black patina. Provenance: Acquired from Jakariah Sillah, February 4, 1963 Published: Brainerd Hall Art Gallery, African Sculpture: Rare and Familiar Forms from the Anspach Collection, 1974:14 catalog for the exhibition at the State University College at Potsdam, New York, October 1974 Roberts, Animals in African Art: From the Familiar to the Marvelous, 1995: 142, figure 70 catalog for the exhibition at The Museum for African Art, New York, March-December 1995 Cf. Vogel (1997:224,235,238) for related figures. Monkey figures share some anthropomorphic stylistic features with Baule male masks. The Baule also express some shared ideas related to secrecy and danger towards women through these sculpted forms. The encrusted patina and the presence of the hollowed cup at the front in the present example attest to years of libations (ibid.) |
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| Sotheby's A FINE BAULE MONKEY gbekre, the male anthropomorphic figure crouching with bent legs and rounded hips beneath an elongated muscular abdomen and broad shoulders leading to arms bent forward to grasp the now missing bowl for sacrificial elements, beneath a dramatically forward projecting face with flat panel for the face, the mouth with open jaw baring teeth and a domed brow; exceptionally fine and encrusted varied patina. height 25 1/2in. 64.8cm PROVENANCE Robert Stolper Gallery, London, 1969 PUBLISHED Klever 1975: figure 159 Cf. Vogel (1997:41, 224, 225 and 235) for related monkeys. See also Loudmer, Paris, June 28, 1990, lot 46 for a closely related figure. The cupped hands of this exceptional monkey figure would have held a vessel for offerings. The Gbekre embodied the powerful and animal part of the human spirit which the Baule believe exists in each person and lives in the bush. This spirit has the ability to devastate crops while at the same time warding away evil spirits and thereby protecting the village. The elaborate and encrusted patina on this figure attests to years of use wherein the diviner would place over the figure, eggs, blood, pieces of yam, chicken or meat, wine and sacrificial elements used to make the monkey powerful. Estimate - $15,000-20,000 |
| Sotheby's Art Africain et Océanien, collection Paolo Morigi SALE PF5027 - 06 Dec 2005 - Paris LOT 60 SUPERBE STATUE DE SINGE PORTEUR DE COUPE, BAULÉ, CÔTE D'IVOIRE 120,000—150,000 EUR Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 120,000 EUR measurements haut. 52 cm alternate measurements 20 in PROVENANCE Ancienne collection André Lefèvre Ancienne collection Charles Ratton, Paris Ancienne collection G.F. Keller (inv. G.F.K. 153) LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Reproduite dans: Etude Ader, Paris, Collection André Lefèvre - Art nègre, Afrique, Océanie, Divers, 13 décembre 1965 : n° 116 Objets et Mondes, t. VIII, fasc. 2, 3 et 4, 1968 (publicité publiée par Charles Ratton pour sa galerie) Gottschalk, 2005 : 224 Here, the depiction of a monkey chewing on a root links it, in our opinion, with the aboya statues used by the diviner-healer when consulting the spirits as part of the practice of mbra (see Boyer in Barbier-Mueller, 1993: 358-362). This particular statue, characterised by its fine modelling, the vigour of its lines and the slimness of the body which is treated anthropomorphically, belongs to style 2 ("elegant") as defined by Borremans-Batist (1975) in his morphological classification of Baule cupbearing statues, among which features the other cupbearer from the former Lefèvre collection. |
