ARTIST: Mossi (Burkina Faso)

TITLE: Mossi Giiga Doll (Fertility Doll)

MEDIUM: Wood

DATE: Unkown

SIZE: H 12 x W 2.25 x D 3 in

PRICE: Please Inquire

Kaya Style fertility doll from the Mossi people of Burkina Faso. In excellent condition, with dark smooth patina and intricate carvings in face and body.

PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA

Mossi Biiga Doll (fertility Doll) hand-carved from wood with a beautiful dark smooth patina, with intricate detail in the Kaya Style. The lines incised on the figure represents braids, characteristic facial scars, and chest and stomach scars worn only by women.

Mossi Biiga Doll is often the focus of rituals and spritual practices associated with motherhood. Among the Mossi people, women hoping for offspring carry these fertility dolls (called ‘Biiga’) in their clothes. The present, typical ‘Biga doll’ is carved from hard wood and dyed dark brown. The doll displays the characteristics of an adult woman, with mature female breasts that represent the fulfillment of motherhood. Scarification [scarring] patterns on the body that traditionally mark passage to adulthood are also represented by carved patterns.

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