116 is initiated and the fi rst object is placed in a thilduu, a return to the group ancestor’s home village is often necessary to acquire suitable cult objects. Thus certain archetypal styles from the Lobi region were moved elsewhere, to wherever the “Lobi” migrated. The discovery of Holly Keko–style objects in Côte d’Ivoire is just one example among many. Magnuor’s meticulous attention to the execution of details is apparent in his rendering of the tresses of the superb coiffure that falls onto the shoulders of this fi gure, a rendering of the fi ber wigs used by the worshippers of Milkuur, a supernatural power that protected those who had killed legitimately, taking vengeance for the shedding of the blood of the matriclans.23 Evidence of Magnuor’s masterful artistic ability also expresses itself through the balanced treatment of the various elements throughout the sculpture. The feet, which are rendered in a cursory way, are united into a kind of base that supports the slightly arched shape of the bent legs, accentuated by the protruding knees. This particular knee treatment, which is typical of this sculptor, does not appear on the fi gures in the Kou thilduu. It was taken up again by his son, Gnokithe, and other sculptors in his family, as evidenced by two fi gures, photographed in the collections of Christina and Rolf Miehler in 1975 (fi g. 19) and of William Brill in 197824 (fi g. 18). These sculptures have similarities with those by Gnokithe and compare well with a sculpture kept in the Kou thilduu (fi g. 22), as well as with a superb male statue with a yuu-buor ritual headdress, also attributed to his hand (fi g. 21). These share certain formal concepts, especially the oval to the Holly elders, the only practitioners of the cult in the area were the healers of the Kou clan. Magnuor likely created these buthiba between 1870 and 1880, when the individual they were made for, Ithe Da, was about fi fty years old, which, as noted above, is the minimum age for practitioners of a cult of this kind.19 Most likely made by a sculptor who was a member of Magnuor Pale’s family or who lived in the same area, another statue in the Holly Keko style, previously published in 198120 (fi g. 16), shares stylistic attributes with other works by this master. The prominent clavicles and the method of attachment of the arms to the shoulders are characteristic. In addition to these formal indicators, certain attributes are also indicative of the honored individual’s social status and show that this style had great importance in the Birifor area. The fi gure wears the baba gnunkpur coiffure of the sacred calabash, reserved for use only by great Birifor hunters. In addition, it has the ventral scarifi cation marks that also correspond to this status. The single work that most clearly evinces this great sculptor’s abilities is undoubtedly one of the fi ve statues, identifi ed only as “Lobi,” seen in a photograph published for the fi rst time in the 1969 Sculptures Ivoiriennes by Bohumil Holas (fi g. 14). These fi ve fi gures had been collected in the bush in Côte d’Ivoire twenty years prior to their being published, having been abandoned after the death of their owner, according to the author.21 Their formal conception relates them to the Holly Keko style, but one of them shows clear features of the hand of Magnuor Pale. This fi gure, which was exhibited the same year at the Vevey Museum in Switzerland, was later acquired by Marc and Denyse Ginzberg and published again in 1981 by Piet Meyer22 (fi g. 15). The presence of Holly Keko–style objects in Côte d’Ivoire should come as no surprise. When a lineage cult FEATURE FIG. 18 (right): William Brill with several pieces from his collection. The one at left can be seen in fi g. 20. Reproduced from Arts d’Afrique Noire, no. 26, 1978. FIG. 19 (below): Male statue in the Holly Keko style. The fi gure has the traditional coiffure of Birifor healers. Wood, shiny patina. H: 62 cm. Ex Christina and Rolf Miehler. FIG. 20: Detail of the statue from the Brill Collection, visible at the left of fi g. 18. Private collection. Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s. © Sotheby’s.
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