Colon statue
sold
- Ivory Coast
- Baoulé
- wood
- h. 47 cm
- 1st half of the 20th century
Very nice statue of a colonial soldier seen through the eyes of an African artist. Many small details can be seen in these old colon statues.
For years, collectors of African statues have turned their noses at statuettes that, in their opinion, were not authentically traditional. They called them 'colons'. Because museums were also not interested for a long time, because it is not purely African art, there is little information about the meaning and origin of colons. The first date from 1880, the beginning of colonial rule in Africa, and show how Africans viewed colonials.
The images are not made to look at, but mainly to touch. By frequently touching the image, that other (dream) world is tangibly present. Most of the images were taken in the countryside. There they were inspired by the photos that relatives who had 'made' it as civil servants, soldiers or police officers, sent from the city. Like the man in an immaculate tropical costume, with a tight parting in his hair, a textbook example of a successful civil servant.