Anthropomoprhe Figure Loom Pulley Stirrup, Gouro/bété Culture, Ivory Coast

WEAVING LOOM PULLEY BRACKET WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC FIGURE
Gouro/Bété culture, Ivory Coast
Late 19th–early 20th century
Wood with crusty patina
H: 28.5; W: 9 cm

A bust-length figure rises from the stirrup, whose arms form a pair of legs. The lines are meticulously carved and stylized: a slender diamond-shaped face, pursed lips, almond-shaped eyes, a thick, straight neck punctuated with keloid scarifications, a rounded forehead, and a shell-shaped headdress decorated with incised diagonal lines.

Bibliography:
A similar example is reproduced in the book L'Art tribal d'Afrique Noire (Tribal Art of Black Africa) by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart, Paris, Editions Assouline, 1998, p. 47, fig. B. and L'art africain dans les collections privées françaises (African Art in French Private Collections) by Marc Rivière, “Tribal Arts,” Fall 1997, p. 81, fig. 48.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON
No. 57 of the exhibition “PULLEYS, these suspended sculptures”