A Fine West African, Ivory Coast, Baule Wood Heddle Pulley (1800 to 2000 Ivory Coast)

Wood

6.00cm wide 19.50cm high 7.00cm deep (2.36 inches wide7.68 inches high2.76 inches deep)

Provenance: Purchased May 1949 from Basil Jonzen of the Weekend Gallery

Ex Collection of Charles Milton (1911-1993) textile designer and artist

Sold by his descendents at auction 2005

Ornamental heddle pulleys are carved for the purposes of public display and are not meant for ritual use. They are functional objects made to support a pair of heddle rods which allow the rapid shed-changing that is a mechanism of West African double heddle loom weaving. They are carved with human or animal heads by which they are suspended from the loom framework. The Baule are justly famous for their visual art traditions and this small figurative sculpture demonstrates the carvers mastery of both function and aesthetic.

A Fine West African, Ivory Coast, Baule Wood Heddle Pulley
The finial carved as a female head with a serene oval face and downcast eyes and projecting three lobed coiffure
Old reddish glossy patina
Late 19th Century – early 20th Century

Size: 19.5 cm high, 6 cm wide, 7 cm deep – 8¾ ins high, 2½ ins wide, 2¾ ins deep