Bocio with opposing faces

The Kingdom of Dahomey was a state almost perpetually at war due to its role in the trade of enslaved people. In response to the trauma and anxiety experienced by its vulnerable underclass, forms of empowered sculpture were developed to shield individuals and their households from harm. Composed through consultation with a diviner, these bocio prescribed for ordinary consumers are more visually unsettling than those historically created for royalty. They are conceived for placement at specific sites, with such positioning informing their true function and meaning. The faces carved on either side of this example allow it to act as a sentinel, guarding opposite directions simultaneously. These powers of vigilance are compounded by the integration of exposed medicinal matter, including a dog’s skull as a crowning element and an animal’s vertebrae strung around the neck.