ITEM #:
2255
ETHNICITY:
Mossi
ORIGIN:
Burkina Faso
MEDIUM:
Wood.
DIMENSIONS:
14.25" Tall (36.2 cm)
CONDITION:
Very Good.
CATALOGUE NOTE:
These Mossi Fertility dolls, known as Biga (doll child), were often carved for female children. The belief was that the doll kindled maternal instincts in them. Carved in several distinctive doll styles, which, like Mossi mask styles, may be traced to specific geographical regions, the dolls, nonetheless share the same basic form, generally limbless but with breasts represented, doll often flares out into a cylindrical base that is slightly larger in circumference than the body, and all are female.
Lines are incised on the figure representing braids, characteristic facial scars, and, most important, chest and stomach scars worn only by women The most distinctive characteristic of the individual carving styles is the shape of the head, generally a semicircle with the flat side down. The fertility stimulating capacity attributed to them was their main function, hence, it was not unusual to find females keeping the figurine until she gave birth to her first child.
ITEM #:
2255
ETHNICITY:
Mossi
ORIGIN:
Burkina Faso
MOSSI BIGA FERTILITY DOLL
These Mossi Fertility dolls, known as Biga (doll child), were often carved for female children. The belief was that the doll kindled maternal instincts in them.