A Baule sculpture, Central Bouaké region, with a pointed goatee beneath a protruding chin and mouth, the slender nose ending up to high arched brows, framed by heavy lidded eyes with small almondshaped viewing slits, on top a beautiful domed coiffure, natural brownish, partly shiny coiffure.
The Baule people utilize the Mblo mask, one of their earliest forms of art, in entertainment dances. These masks showcase the fundamental Baule sculpting style evident in various objects such as combs, spoons, and pulleys. The smooth, glossy surfaces of the masks, resembling healthy, well-nourished skin, contrast elegantly with intricately textured regions that represent hairstyles, scarification, and other adornments. The refined personal beauty is conveyed through fine coiffures and scarification.

"The Baule are originally part of a breakaway group of the Akan people from Ghana. In the 17th century, Queen Abla Pokou led a group on an exodus away from the main Ashanti Confederacy after a war broke out due to disagreements among the factions. Pokou realized that she and her followers may be in harms way, so she took her people and headed westward. Legend says the group came upon the Comoé River, with its dangerous waters and needed a way to safely cross. With the enemy gaining on them, Queen Pokou asked a diviner for advice. The diviner, after much thought, told her the gods required a sacrifice. Everyone began throwing their most prized possessions into the river; gold, ivory, cattle, everything they owned, hoping to appease the gods. The diviner shook his head and said that our sons are our most prized possessions. Pokou, knowing that her duty as queen was more important than that of a mother, decided then to sacrifice her only son, throwing him into the water and calling out “Ba ouli”, translated to “the child is dead”, giving them the name Baule. After the sacrifice was made, hippopotamuses came up from the river and formed a bridge allowing the queen and her people to cross."

"Differing from most cultures, the Baule are a matriarchal society. Not only are genetic lineages traced by the mother’s blood line, but they refrain from participating in secret societies and initiations that usually forbid women. They believe women’s rights are sacred and are for the most part, given the same opportunities as men. They do however, have some objects such as special men’s masks or anthropomorphic monkeys that women are forbidden to see due to fear of harm or death."

Information found on Discover African Art.

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Height: 12 cm
Weight: 490 g