Not everything is easy to sell.
I hesitated.
I’ve kept this Lobi figure for many years.
At first, very simply, because it is big.
Eighty-one centimeters high, heavy, not easy to handle. For my in-house expeditions, it was never a convenient object. It always required more space, more care, more effort.
But that was not the real reason.
There is an elegance in its rudeness that gave me pleasure from the beginning.
The expression is not pleasing. The arms and legs are very thin, almost fragile, while the belly is bulging and heavy. The proportions are not meant to comfort the eye. They create tension.
It is not an object that tries to seduce.
Lobi figures like this one were kept in shrine houses, usually placed slightly aside from the village. Their role was protection. These shrine houses are not clean or ordered places. They are often messy. You can feel the traces of offerings — chicken blood, residue, layers of use accumulated over time.
This figure carries that history quietly.
I also kept it because of its authenticity.
Because nothing here has been softened or corrected.
Because it has not been made easier to live with.
And yes — because living with it gave me pleasure. Not decorative pleasure, but the pleasure of presence. Of an object that resists you a little, and asks for time.
After many years, I decided it was time to let it go.
If this Lobi figure speaks to you, you can find a link to the sales page below.
If you prefer a more detailed approach, you can also contact me directly and I will send you a PDF with a complete description, additional images, and provenance information.
Not everything is easy to sell.
Some objects ask you to hesitate first.
David Norden
