A headstake attributed to Sikire Kambire

A family who has had professional and cultural links with West Africa since the 1960s ,has kindly sent Tribal art Forum some photos of a remarkable Lobi head sculpture of a style and quality that immediately refers to the known work attributed to Sikire Kambire. It was bought in Burkina Faso not long after the carver's death in 1963 . The stake on which the head rests is quite thick in relation to the head and has not been shortened , the bronze bracelet has been slipped on to the stake as a provisional base to counterbalance the sculpture , and it was brought to Europe .from Ouagadogou fifty years ago.



The head dress on this Baa'thil headstake is written of in Daniela Bognolo .(Lobi 2007 ) "a hairstyle worn by every Birifor man during the initiation of his son into the Joro",and she links the dovetail crest to the Teebo style. page 136-137. Though it is always difficult to judge from the photos , the usually crisp edges of Sikires carving style in his early maturity ,around the time that he made the many masks for Export, has been attractively softened here, by what appears to be subtle atmospheric erosion and the staining of libations, which would put this head among his rare ceromonial objects of that era .



A rough stylistic evolution of this carver was outlined by Meyer in his 1981 "Art and Religion of the Lobi " and again certain details on this head can be linked to the discipline and refinement learnt in the production of the masks. The crest shows incredible linear and symmetrical consistency when seen from the behind the sculpture ,and what is unusual is the precision of slight serpentine curve that the incised lines forming the hair, follow, and the "v" of the central parting line ,that increases the possibility that this is an autograph work .

click for magnification of the photos

There is another head stake illustrated on page 136 ,in Meyer. The forms of this head are strong and decisive ,less convincing is the stiff and continuous jaw line ,that the carver may have left here to adapt the head to the post ,and the dove tail appears to be irregular when seen from the back view .The horizontal extention of the ears can be seen in other sculptures attributed to this carver and there is evidence of scorch marks in the poker work used to make the ear holes, especially where the ear is broken . The features of the face are typical of this carver ,though such a receding chin, seen from the side view is notable . It is certainly an interesting and beautiful sculpture ,that I hope will promote further discussion from researchers and collectors in the future .
PH