Baga Shrine Piece A-Tshol Guinea African Art

Description

Title
Baga Shrine Piece A-Tshol Guinea African Art
Type of Object
Shrine, carving
Country of Origin
Guinea
People
Baga
Materials
Wood, pigment
Approximate Age
20th century
Height (in)
24
Width (in)
5
Depth (in)
36
Other Dimensions
Height: 24 Inches
Width: 5 Inches
Depth: 36 Inches
Overall Condition
Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.   Small splits, scrapes and cracks are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.  We examine each piece carefully when we receive it and report any damage we find in our listings.  Please look carefully at the pictures which may also reveal condition and damage.
Damage/Repair
Significant arrested insect damage
Additional Information
:
The Baga artist who created this sculpture carved the head as a human face with an attenuated birdlike beak on an elongated neck. He pierced the skull with openwork forms into which antelope horns holding medicines might be placed. He carved a projection from the back of the head, inserted brass tacks to represent the pupils of the eyes and incised elaborate designs into the surface. Baga art and rituals have been associated with ancestors, various spirits, nature and the cosmos. Inspired by the natural world, Baga artists create complex objects such as this shrine figure known as a-Tshol, generally translated as medicine. Baga artists do not strictly copy nature, however. The beak of an a-Tshol probably echoes that of the long-legged wading birds, possibly pelicans, that inhabit the lagoons and marshes where the Baga live. These birds use their beaks as they search for food, an act that may evoke the power of the a-Tshol to hunt and punish the enemies of the lineage. Birds, the Baga believe, can also fly between heaven, the world of spirits, and earth, the world of man. A Baga village traditionally is composed of lineages that are descended from a common ancestor. Each lineage owned an a-Tshol, which protected the group from evil. The Baga believed that an enemy with sufficient means can inflict harm. If a person is ill, his or her relatives consult a diviner who locates the cause. At other times, individuals seek help to correct a wrong by approaching the eldest member of their lineage, who addresses the ancestor on their behalf. The ancestor will instruct the a-Tshol to punish the culprit. Tshol are displayed at celebrations for a successful harvest, worn as horizontal headpieces at dances associated with male initiation and appear at funerals. Each a-Tshol, the most visible sign of a particular ancestry, incarnates the life of the lineage. When not in use, Tshol are kept in shrines sometimes located in the houses of the eldest members of the lineages. The men offer sacrifices to them. As guardians of the lineage, Tshol assume a protective role that is reinforced by the presence of horns (reportedly those of a duiker, a type of small antelope) filled with medicines.
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