Colons

The term “colon” is applied in African art to small statues that take their origin in colonial times, the most significant being those of the Baulé ethnic group in Ivory Coast. These statuettes usually represent characters of all kinds and conditions of European society of that time, both men and women. This can be found from magistrates, doctors or military to footballers, rockers or ordinary people dressed in street clothes, wearing shorts, long pants or work monkeys, as well as wearing shirts and shoes of all kinds. The arms are usually extended along the body, in other cases with the hands in the pockets in an unwrapped attitude. The uncovered face and body parts are painted red, a colour with which Africans describe the European. A humorous nuance surrounds these figures that are nothing but a satire of the colonial population. Africans working for Europeans, in the army, in the administration or in hospitals have also been represented. It is common to find figures representing African maternity homes, healers and even African-style European characters. An important feature of these figures is their colour, most of them painted with all kinds of colors, including red, black, blue, white and yellow. What has earned them the humorous name of “Ripolin figures”, the name of a well-known brand of painting sold throughout the West Africa.