Lot Essay
Tim Garrard (Art of Côte d'Ivoire, Geneva, 1993, p.153) states: "today, notably among the Baule, they [Baule knives] survive only as objects of prestige owned by family heads and village chiefs. The art of making them has been lost with the disappearance of the traditional blacksmiths, and most examples seem to date from the 19th century."