H x W x D: 32.5 x 14.5 x 7.2 cm (12 13/16 x 5 11/16 x 2 13/16 in.)
Type:
Figure
Geography:
Dekame, Benin
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
The Fon of Benin create powerful figures such as this known as bocio, which are considered to be “empowered objects.” This bocio consists of a carved wooden figure with several attached bundles containing a duck skull, cowrie shells, glass beads and other materials.
Libations of empowering materials that are selected for their physical and symbolic potency are repeatedly given to bocio, creating its layered patina. Libations and added materials are deliberately added to make the object visually powerful, shocking, and astonishing.
Bocio were believed to work in conjunction with the energies of the gods, vodun, to protect against evil, sorcery, illness, theft, and to provide power and success. According to the donor who field collected this object it was used in land disputes, planted in the disputed land and alcohol poured over it in order to protect the land from any man who would take it. Additionally, rooster blood was used for sacrifice.
Description:
Wood figure with duck skull attached to back, covered with dried rooster blood, other.
Provenance:
Michael and Shirley Furst, collected 1965-1968
Exhibition History:
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 22, 2013-February 23, 2014
Published References:
Blier, Suzanne Preston. 1995. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 219, no. 100.
Content Statement:
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