CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Details

POULIE BAOULE JANUS
BAULE DOUBLE-HEADED HEDDLE PULLEY
Côte d'Ivoire
Hauteur: 19.7 cm. (7 ¾ in.)

Provenance

Celeste et Armand Bartos, New York

Special notice

" f " : In addition to the regular Buyer’s premium, a commission of 7% (i.e. 7.385% inclusive of VAT for books, 8.372% inclusive of VAT for the other lots) of the hammer price will be charged to the buyer. It will be refunded to the Buyer upon proof of export of the lot outside the European Union within the legal time limit.(Please refer to section VAT refunds)

Further details

The Bartos heddle pulley is a superb carving bringing together some of the most classical forms known among the Baule. The heddle pulley itself is an iconic form, an object which distills many of the Baule themes, suspended above the loom for the weaver's daily contemplation. The finial here depicts a janus buffalo mask, here in miniature form, of the type called bonu amwin. The masks usually represent the mask of the male society to which the weaver belongs. The janiform style suggests the presence of greater divine power. See a closely related large buffalo mask also with the elegant lines and curves defining the face and horns now in the Barbier-Mueller collection, formerly Josef Mueller, before 1939 (Boyer in Barbier (ed.), Art of the Ivory Coast, 1995, p.147 and 121).

Brought to you by

Chloé Beauvais

cbeauvais@christies.com +33 (0)1 40 76 84 48

Lot Essay

La poulie de la collection Bartos est superbement sculptée et réunit les formes les plus classiques de l'art Baoulé. La poulie est elle-même une forme iconique qui distille de nombreux thèmes baoulé, suspendue au-dessus du métier à tisser livrée à la contemplation quotidienne du tisserand. Le registre supérieur figure un masque de buffle janus de type bonu amwin, ici de taille miniature. Ces sculptures représentent généralement les masques de la société masculine à laquelle appartient le tisserand. La forme janus suggère la présence d'un grand pouvoir divin. Voir un masque comparable très proche qui présente d'élégantes lignes et des courbes dessinant la tête et les cornes, faisant partie de la collection Barbier-Mueller et provenant de Josef Mueller avant 1939 (Boyer in Barbier, Art of the Ivory Coast, 1995, p.147 et 121).

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