Wood

A knife, an adze and a single block of hardwood. Carved wood figures here come from the Baule of Ivory Coast, the Ashanti and Fante of Ghana, the Mossi of Burkina Faso and the Yoruba and Fon, with others from India, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. Baule blolo figures represent a spirit spouse from the other world, kept and cared for by the living partner. Ashanti linguist’s staffs rise to carved finials of leopards, lions, turtles and porcupines, each image tied to a proverb.

Mossi biiga dolls, Fante akua ba, Yoruba and Fon ibeji twin figures, and fertility dolls of the Fali, Namchi and Kirdi of Cameroon stand with Dogon, Moba, Maasai and Yombe figures. Farther afield: a Japanese Jizo, a Philippine Saint Roch, painted Nandi bulls and a carousel horse from western India, a West Sumatran ancestor figure and a Chinese boxwood pixiu. Line a mantel with figures of varied heights. Wood keeps gaining character long after it stops growing.