BAMANA POWER OBJECT (BOLI) MALI

the power object modelled from the gradual accumulation of material around the wood core, bearing an abstract form of a pig, the plump central body surmounted by an almost pyramidal 'hump', all supported on four short slightly splayed legs, the uneven surface of a variegated nougat-brown colour

Collection of Enrico Prometti, Bergamo.
Collection of Luciano Lanfranchi, Milan.
A private Belgian collection.

 

Jean-Paul Colleyn and Catherine de Clippel, Bamanaya. un arte di vivere in Mali, Milan, 1998.

Wear consistent with age and use within the traditional cultural context. Some minor scattered losses to the thick, highly encrusted and compacted surface; cracks in places, very typical for this type of object. An area of loss to the top layer of the encrusted surface, towards the underside of the figure’s ‘head’, showing a lighter coloured compacted surface. A few scattered signs of repair to the surface. Varied brown patina.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Upon first inspection this power object, known as a boli (plural boliw) impresses with its seemingly ‘elementary’ form, a shape achieved by the gradual accumulation of material around a wood core. In 1933 an image of a ‘boli du kono’ [the Kònò secret society, which was custodian of the boli] appeared in the Surrealist magazine Minotaure; it was described by the author and ethnographer Michel Leiris as "one of those bizarre shapes […] in the form of a pig, always in nougat brown." The form of the boli and its dense, cracked surface, suggestive of some primordial landscape, resonated with the Surrealist love of ‘fetishes’ and objects which were generally considered grotesque or bizarre, and the boli published in Minotaure soon became "the centre of an enthusiasm for Primitivism" (Colleyn, ‘ Images, signes, fétiches. À propos de l'art bamana (Mali)’, Cahiers d’études africaines, No. 195, 2009, p. 22).

If one engages with the boli beyond its seemingly ‘primitive’ appearance an object which possesses an immensely complicated cosmological significance is revealed. The boli is both a symbol of the universe and a receptacle for the forces that animate the universe, and it serves as an intermediary which permits communication with the ancestor or supernatural power whose force permeates it. As a repository of enormous spiritual power, or nyama, the boli  would be viewed with a mixture of awe and fear. As the most essential instrument of communication between earthly mortals and the supernatural powers that control nyama, boliw were "an important part of the Bamana judicial structure, inanimate objects to which the Bamana community entrusts its decision making."