A female Baule sculpture, Ivory Coast, placed on an oval base, knees slightly bent, the two hands are resting on her stomach, 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 mouth at the end of a large jaw, half rounded eyes wide open, the hairdo is pulled back in a conical way, the face, neck, front and back of the body are covered with scarifications, sign of beauty and status in Baule culture; some wear throughout the sculpture, the base is quite damaged, insect damage in the back, signs of use.

“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.

sold

Height: 44 cm
Weight: 1,8 kg