A wooden sculpture - Ewe - Togo (No reserve price)

Anthropomorphic figure with textile attachments, Ewe Origin: Tsévié region, Togo Material: wood, textile, cords, pigments, and unidentified materials; ritual object associated with Vodun practices and protection; specific function not documented. Description This attributed Ewe anthropomorphic figure features a vertical wooden structure almost entirely concealed beneath a dense accumulation of small textile pouches knotted or tied around the body. Only the head and the base remain clearly visible. The carefully carved head displays a relatively naturalistic face: a rounded forehead, pronounced brow ridges, slightly protruding almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, closed lips, and prominent ears. The hairstyle consists of thick, parallel, longitudinal strands that cascade down toward the nape of the neck. Small appendages appear near the ears, which may suggest ornaments or added elements. Very visible traces of blue pigment remain on the forehead, around the eyes, on the cheeks, and near the mouth; however, they cannot be chemically identified without laboratory analysis. The body is wrapped in several dozen small bundles of fabric—square, rectangular, or oval in shape—arranged in overlapping layers. Some still exhibit yellow, blue, or grayish hues; others are heavily coated with a beige-gray powdery substance. Threads, cords, and ties remain visible between the pouches. Their contents cannot be determined from photographs: they could consist of plant, mineral, or animal materials, or miniature objects, but only an X-ray or non-invasive analysis would allow this to be verified. The circular base, which is partially visible, bears reddish marks. The entire piece has a dusty, irregular, and heavily encrusted surface, indicating a gradual construction process rather than a sculpture conceived as a bare, definitive form. Historical-artistic analysis and scientifically grounded description This object likely belongs to the broad family of Vodun religious arts from southern Togo, in which a carved figure may constitute only the core of a much more complex material assemblage. Claude Rivière describes a religious universe among the Ewe of Togo that combines vodu, trõ, ancestors, Afa divination, sacrifices, healing, protection, and objects imbued with substances intended to establish a relationship between individuals and invisible powers. Tsévié is, in fact, among the localities mentioned in his ethnographic study. Sculpture must therefore be considered not merely as a "statue," but as a composite and transformable object. Suzanne Preston Blier has shown that, in the vodun arts of Togo and Benin, wood, textiles, ropes, bones, plants, and other materials can be assembled to produce objects whose power lies as much in their successive additions and transformations as in the initial sculpted form. She emphasizes, in particular, the mechanisms of "activation," the addition of materials, and binding characteristic of certain bocio-type sculptures. The object presented here can be linked to this logic, though it is not possible to definitively classify it as a bocio or attribute it to a specific vodun. The exceptional accumulation of pouches almost entirely transforms the human silhouette: the body becomes an architecture of superimposed layers. This aesthetic of addition is significant. It suggests that the efficacy attributed to the object could have been built up over time through the addition of new elements corresponding to requests, prescriptions, or ritual operations. Ritual Function In the religious practices documented in southern Togo, objects commonly referred to as "fetishes" are not simply images of deities. Albert de Surgy describes them as material devices crafted, consecrated, and maintained to mediate the relationship between humans and spiritual powers. Their composition may include plants, powders, fabrics, sacrificial substances, ritual incantations, libations, and other components selected according to the intended purpose. His study directly references Tsévié and numerous methods for preparing and activating ritual objects. The pouches visible in this illustration could thus be interpreted as ritual charges or containers, each potentially holding a specific substance, prescription, or intention. Possible functions within this type of tradition include personal or family protection, healing, defense against malevolent influences, strengthening an individual or a sanctuary, fulfilling a request, or controlling certain forces. Vodun sculptures documented in Togo and Benin have indeed been used for protection, healing, and, in some cases, actions directed against adversaries. The Smithsonian also holds photographic records attesting to the use of vodun statues receiving sacrificial liquids in the coastal region of Togo. Selected Bibliography Rivière, Claude. Religious Anthropology of the Evé of Togo. Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, 1981. de Surgy, Albert. Nature and Function of Fetishes in Black Africa: The Case of Southern Togo. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1994. de Surgy, Albert. The Way of the Fetishes: An Essay on the Theoretical Foundations and Mystical Perspective of Fetishists' Practices. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1995. Blier, Suzanne Preston. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art (ed.). Vodun: African Voodoo. Munich: Hirmer, 2011. The publications mentioned serve for comparative art historical classification. They do not establish the specific cultural attribution, dating, or original use of the sculpture in question. Copyright and Scientific Documentation Some of the information and photographs have been generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and are based on published sources in ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Original texts and photographs may be protected by copyright. All rights held by the respective copyright holders are reserved. Inv. No. MAZ33234 Informant: Batoure

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