A Baule female figure, sitting on a stool placed on an oval base, her two hands are touching the extremities of the stool, her strong, slender, torso is mounted by a thick cylindric neck who carries a large oval shaped head, the features of the face are calm, relaxed, a small smiling mouth, half closed eyes looking downwards, the hairdo is pulled back in a stylish manner typical of the Baule style, she is also wearing yellow necklaces around her neck and a red sash around her hips, the face, abdomen, neck and back are covered with scarifications, sign of beauty and status in Baule culture; some wear throughout, signs of use, cracks on the side of the head and torso.

“To articulate historians, the most consistent features of Baule art is a kind of peaceful containment. Faces tend to have downcast eyes and figures most often hold their ams against the body. […] Among their abundant art forms, the Baule people continue to place the greatest value on masks and figure sculptures, which remain the only sculptural art still widely used in Baule villages. While there is a difference between the Baule view of their objects and that of Western connoisseurs, there are points of agreement. Aesthetic appreciation is one: Baule artist, and individual owners of objects, certainly sometimes enjoy the beauty of these objects and the skill it took coproduce them. […]

Ornaments above the face are chosen for their beauty and have no iconographic significance” p.141.

Lit: Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. Susan M.Vogel 1997.

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Height: 54 cm
Weight: 2,22 kg