A male Baule sculpture, Ivory Coast, standing on a circular base, flattened feet, slightly bent legs with beads around both ankles, the arms carved close to the body with hands resting on the abdomen, a diagonal scar across the top of the abdomen and on the left side of the neck; the head with fine facial features, oval eyes framed by thick eyebrows that join in the center to form a small nose; small open mouth showing theeth; Three dots of scars on either side of temple and center of the forehead; a domed, fine striated coiffure. Visible signs of use. Certificate of Origin and provenance.

“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: 40 cm
Weight: 700 g