"Colonial People" comes from the Baule tribe of the Ivory Coast, where the colon genre was born during the colonial period. The figures depict European officials and Westernized Africans in European dress, carved not for market but for indigenous use, a tradition some describe as Transitional Art.
After World War II and decolonization, colon figures achieved worldwide acclaim. Anthropologists still debate whether they began as satirical portraits of colonial officials, as ritual objects, or simply as new subjects in local styles. Each figure carries that full, unsettled history. Available in small and large.
