Lobi Standing Male Figure Based

Long legs, a long neck and the patience to stand on both for a very long time.

This standing male figure is Lobi, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the early 19th century. It is wood, mounted on a base. Lobi figures, called bateba, are generally understood as intermediaries with the spirit world, kept in household shrines. The slender body is weathered to a pale, deeply split surface, with a small rounded head, a ridged crest and a protruding belly. One arm survives along the side. Long straight legs reach down to a flat metal plate, with a small dark band at one knee. It is 4.75 inches wide and 27.5 high.

The wood has softened, and the stance has not.